National Database to Prevent Phone Theft

[SharpieFiend]

The US is finally planning to create a national database to do what many of us have wanted for years - properly document stolen phones so they can't be used. Just so Canada can keep its status of being a world leader of wireless communication, CITA gave us this nice quote:

" “Each carrier keeps track of their own networks, but to create a national database, it would be incredibly complex, and probably incredibly costly,” said Marc Choma, spokesman for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, which represents wireless carriers. "

Also, since our police forces are so proactive in safeguarding Canadian citizens, they have said they have no plans to do anything at all because (gasp) no one has asked them to.

The problem of phone theft is growing, I personally know many people who have been mugged (some violently) for their phones because they are so valuable and easy to sell. In some cases the phone is all the thief wanted, leaving wallets and other valuables with their owners. The value of the phones aside, the contents of the phone can be far more valuable, sometimes catastrophic if lost.

As smartphones become more integrated into our lives safeguards need to be put in place to prevent theft, and the best solution is a national 'do not activate' database. Since the CRTC is currently asking for input regarding future policy, please contact them via their online form and ask for them to implement a 'do not activate' database to help prevent phone theft.

CRTC Online Submission Form

Article from The Toronto Star

[xtachx]

This wont do jack. I ahve seen phone theft databases in Asia. The thieves usually clone the IMEI to get around this.

[SharpieFiend]

This wont do jack. I ahve seen phone theft databases in Asia. The thieves usually clone the IMEI to get around this.

Then the phone manufacturers need to do a better job to prevent this from happening. The fact is that nobody seems to care, except for the poor consumer who gets ripped off.

[DummyBuy]

I personally do not want my tax dollars to be spent on a program like this.

I always like to have the government keep out of things they do not know of as it will end up costing 10-20 times more than it should.

How about a someone makes a new company for phone security and the providers are able to allow this company to do searches (for a fee) to this company of active IMEI and then once it can be tracked, the company can go and get your phone back.

Government are too slow, too expensive and too stupid to do anything worth while!

[Mr Mystery]

How about we just enact Marshall law? "Oh, you want my phone? Here" bang,
bang, bang

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using HowardForums

[pjw918]

The US is finally planning to create a national database to do what many of us have wanted for years - properly document stolen phones so they can't be used. Just so Canada can keep its status of being a world leader of wireless communication, CITA gave us this nice quote:

" “Each carrier keeps track of their own networks, but to create a national database, it would be incredibly complex, and probably incredibly costly,” said Marc Choma, spokesman for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, which represents wireless carriers. "
...
As smartphones become more integrated into our lives safeguards need to be put in place to prevent theft, and the best solution is a national 'do not activate' database. Since the CRTC is currently asking for input regarding future policy, please contact them via their online form and ask for them to implement a 'do not activate' database to help prevent phone theft.

I think this is a great idea. Roaming partners already do a check with the home register* (carrier); taking that a step further to a check with a national database of lost/stolen devices seems doable, logical, and consumer focused. The purpose being to prevent the use of these devices on any network, unless/until the registered user confirms the device has been recovered. However implemented, if effective the market for stolen devices would plummet along with the incentive to steal. A national database may not even be necessary, just an additional flag or field on the home register. The phone's IMEI need not be associated with a user outside the IMSI's 'home' network.

How predictable CWTA's response. "incredibly costly" = "have some cost of implementation to our members". Marc Choma sounds like a lobbyist, not someone with technical understanding or consumer focus. The comments he makes in the article underscores CWTA's role as that of protector of status quo. The recommendation of the Major Cities Chiefs Association that the carriers not only block but track the devices merits scrutiny if not outright dismissal.

--
The Wikipedia articles on IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) and IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) are informative and relevant.
* HLR - home location register, described in the Wikipedia article on the Network switching subsystem, also worth reading

[Tendenzi]

How will something like this protect consumers from falling victim to fraudulent sales? How does one privately sell their item and ensure the buyer they will not report the phone?

There seems to be a lot of loop holes in this plan that can in the end leave the wireless consumer more victim than protected. And please let's not say the only solution is to always purchase a new phone.

[endlessdayz]

There has to be some way that can stop the theft of mobile phones. This is going to be one of the many growing problems facing us as phones become more and more integrated into our lives.

[pjw918]

AP video on the US announcement: Putting the brakes on smartphone thefts (2:10)

"The FCC wants it to be a database with a worldwide reach"

[SharpieFiend]

I personally do not want my tax dollars to be spent on a program like this.

As someone who benefits from stolen phones (ie. the victim has to buy a new one), I'm not surprised you would post a response like this.

Countries that have already implemented a 'do not activate' database, such as Australia, have seen dramatic decreases in phone theft. The carriers do not want to implement this because its inconvenient for them so it's up to the government to mandate it.

[SharpieFiend]

I think this is a great idea. Roaming partners already do a check with the home register* (carrier); taking that a step further to a check with a national database of lost/stolen devices seems doable, logical, and consumer focused. The purpose being to prevent the use of these devices on any network, unless/until the registered user confirms the device has been recovered. However implemented, if effective the market for stolen devices would plummet along with the incentive to steal. A national database may not even be necessary, just an additional flag or field on the home register. The phone's IMEI need not be associated with a user outside the IMSI's 'home' network.

Exactly. All the database needs is the carrier and IMEI with a flag, which is either 'OK' or 'do not activate'. It's as simple as that. The phones automatically get placed in the database when the user signs up for service and can be 'deactivated' when reported stolen to the carrier. To give the database extra teeth it could be integrated with the US database to stop phones being shipped across the border.

If this was implemented then even the most expensive iPhone wouldn't be worth a rock so even a whacked out crackhead wouldn't bother.

[SharpieFiend]

How will something like this protect consumers from falling victim to fraudulent sales? How does one privately sell their item and ensure the buyer they will not report the phone?

There seems to be a lot of loop holes in this plan that can in the end leave the wireless consumer more victim than protected. And please let's not say the only solution is to always purchase a new phone.

Seriously, what incentive does a seller have to report a phone stolen when they have the cash in their hand?

If you're concerned then get a receipt with the seller's contact info, and check their ID to see if the address matches. If the sale is legit then the seller shouldn't refuse. If the seller does refuse then alarm bells should go off in your head and you should walk away from the sale. It's as simple as protecting yourself, you don't need someone else to do it for you. Also, don't buy your phones in the parking lot of a Tim Horton's. That's never a good idea - at least go in and have a coffee with the seller. If they aren't willing to spend 20 minutes with you during the transaction then you should walk away.

If you're concerned about buying a stolen/disabled phone, then there should be a website you can go to and enter the IMEI of the phone to check its status. Any legit seller should be willing to allow you to do that, even if it's in the moments before the sale.

[SharpieFiend]

There has to be some way that can stop the theft of mobile phones. This is going to be one of the many growing problems facing us as phones become more and more integrated into our lives.

Indeed. I'd take it further and say it's already a problem - we put our lives in them and most people don't even give it a second thought. If you ask people what they would do if their phone was stolen, most of them would have no idea.

[dcorreia]

Seems like perfect timing for this topic.

http://www.680news.com/news/local/ar...icoke-shooting

Two arrested in connection with Etobicoke shooting
680News staff Apr 11, 2012 22:45:46 PM

Police say two suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting at a housing complex on the East Mall in Etobicoke, Wednesday.

Gunfire broke out just after 1:30 p.m. near Rathburn and the 427, leaving a teenager in serious condition.

Police told CityNews the suspects may have been trying to steal the victim's iPhone.

A"hold and secure" was in place at a number of nearby schools and daycares while police investigated.

[pjw918]

In fact, this would not be difficult to implement, the means already exists. The EIR - Equipment Identity Register - is designed for this very purpose. Currently operators in Canada block stolen phones by SIM only, leaving the phone free to be used with a different SIM. The EIR lists by IMEI the phones to be banned from the network, it integrates with the HLR.

From the Widipedia IMEI article :

Blacklist of stolen devices

When mobile equipment is stolen or lost the owner can typically contact their local operator with a request that it should be blocked. If the local operator possesses an Equipment Identity Register (EIR), it then will put the device IMEI into it, and can optionally communicate this to the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) which blacklists the device in all other operator switches that use the CEIR. With this blacklisting in place the device is bricked and becomes unusable on any operator that uses the CEIR, making theft of mobile equipment a useless business proposition, unless for parts...

In the UK, a voluntary charter operated by the mobile networks ensures that any operator's blacklisting of a handset is communicated to the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) and subsequently to all other networks. This ensures the handset will be unusable for calls often quite quickly and, in any case, within 48 hours. In some other countries including the United States, such blacklisting is not customary.


The EIR is available to all operators, and is in fact in use by Rogers, but they decline to use it for their customers, using it only for their own phones.

From a very relevant thread in the Rogers forum -

The tax dollars involved would be negligible. As a member of the CEIR/EIR IMEI DB program, Rogers already had everything in place to provide this and do it for their own stolen phones. All it would require is a CRTC mandate that they accept reports from customers, perhaps accompanied by a police report.

Realistically there is only one reason why a carrier wouldn't want to blacklist IMEIs for customer stolen phones. The phones are usually locked to their network so blocking them would be turning away revenue.

There would have been no motivation for the shooting reported in the previous post, if use of the EIR as intended were required of Canadian operators.