Table 1 Problems and solutions
From: Preventing phone theft and robbery: the need for government action and international coordination
Problem | Proposed solution |
|---|---|
A. Lack of coverage | |
International IMEI database unused | Concept: International bodies and agencies promote national-level blacklisting |
How: Governments encourage national networks. United Nations promotes international treaty obligations. Monitoring and publicity. | |
National EIR unused or partially used | Concept: Promote blacklisting by networks. |
How: Incentives and regulation by government, monitoring and enforcement of adherence. | |
B. Stolen phones remain unblacklisted | |
Theft unreported to network. | Concept: Encourage reporting. |
How: Incentivise victim reporting via insurers; Require police communication to phone networks; Regulate networks and incentivise call takers to solicit information from callers. | |
Theft reported but IMEI unknown to victim. | Concept: Networks can identify IMEIs. |
How: Regulate networks; Networks incentivise call takers to identify IMEIs and blacklist them. | |
IMEI not blacklisted by network. | Concept: Require blacklisting. |
How: Regulate networks to require blacklisting; Phone theft index; Monitoring (e.g. secret shopper surveys), publicity and fines. | |
C. Reprogramming | |
Handset reprogramming | Make reprogramming illegal. Incentivise design-solutions by phone industry. Policing tactics. |
Duplicate IMEIs allow stolen phones to work | Networks should blacklist duplicate IMEIs. |
D. Kill-switches | |
Kill-switches potentially vulnerable to reprogramming and other hacking | Requires government to liaise with industry to anticipate and design-out problem |
E. Stolen goods markets | |
Recycling: Stolen handsets bought by recycling firms | Regulation of recycling firms; Monitoring with publicity; Enforcement with fines. |
High street and online secondhand goods markets | Regulation; codes of conduct; transparency and accountability of buyers and sellers. |
F. Handset trafficking | |
Stolen handsets shipped to markets without blacklisting | International promotion of blacklisting; Monitoring and enforcement of use of international IMEI Database. Market research to identify and target destination markets and networks. |
Manufacturers (who lose market share) should be informed of market share lost to trafficking. | |
G. Future developments | |
New technologies, offender adaptations and other change may produce new incentives for theft and robbery | Anticipatory crime-proofing. |