Young people target of mobile phone theft

Mobile phone users, especially young people, are being encouraged to register their device with Immobilse.com.

The latest British Crime Survey reveals that young people between 10 and 24 years old are the age group most likely to be targeted of mobile phone theft.

People can help protect their property by registering it online with Immobilise.com a national database that police can access and compare against items that have been found or recovered from suspected criminals.

The online service is free and is quick and easy to use. Items marked as being registered with Immobilise.com are less likely to be stolen.

People can stop their phone being used if it is stolen by reporting the device’s unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number to their network operator.

The IMEI number can be found by keying in *#06# people should then make a note of it and register their phone with their network.

Once a phone has been reported stolen or lost to the user's network operator it will log it with the Central Equipment Identity Register, a shared database of blacklisted IMEI handset numbers. All mobile phone network operators in the UK will disable the phone by reference to the unique IMEI number of the handset. This means that the handset itself (not just the SIM card which can easily be swapped) will be barred and will be unusable on any network, even if a new SIM card is inserted.

People are also encouraged to follow a few simple crime prevention tips to help avoid them becoming a target of crime. These include keeping handbags zipped or closed and carrying them over the head and arm rather then just the shoulder, carrying phones out of sight in an inside or front pocket, avoiding using them in a public area and not leaving them on display.