1. Mobile Phone Theft

2. Serving our communities and protecting them from harm Introduction Mobile Phone Theft There were an estimated 742,000 victims of mobile phone theft in England and Wales in 2012/13 (2012/13 Crime Survey for England and Wales) This represents just under 2% of all mobile phone owners The majority of these thefts were crimes against the person (as opposed to crimes against property): 34% were “theft from the person” and 40% “other personal theft”. For 14-24 year olds, the rate of theft is around 3.5%, with the rate being higher among women (Source: “Reducing Mobile Phone Theft and Improving Security, September 2014” from www.gov.uk)

3. How To Prevent Thefts Serving our communities and protecting them from harm There are many simple pieces of advice to prevent mobile phone theft: Be discreet on the street – keep phones and valuables out of sight Stay alert – don’t let headphones block out traffic, strangers or potential trouble Listen to instincts – know your location and routes, avoiding dark places and staying in public areas Never let a stranger use your phone – in an emergency make a call for them Keep the phone on your person at all times, not just with you Pay attention to the location of your phone Be aware of pickpockets in crowds; don’t make it easy for them Don’t display phones in an unattended vehicle Avoid using a mobile when you exit train stations, or places where crowds allow thieves to easily disappear

4. How To Be Prepared For A Theft Serving our communities and protecting them from harm IMEI number Owners should make a note of the IMEI number, which is unique to each phone This allows the phone to more easily be reported stolen and returned if found This can be found by keying*#06# into any mobile Immobilise Registering a phone on Immobilise (immobilise.com) allows it to be reported stolen more easily This also allows police to identify the owner of a recovered phone and return it to its owner

5. How To Avoid Buying A Stolen Phone Serving our communities and protecting them from harm You can never become the legal owner of a stolen phone Check key details on a second-hand phone before buying it, including: A photo of the phone (not a stock photo, but one of the actual phone) The price in comparison to similar products The IMEI number of the phone: check this on checkmend.com/uk, which shows the make and model of the phone with that IMEI and whether it is currently lost or stolen. If it is showing as lost or stolen inform the company hosting the advert. The name of the seller Whether the phone has been modified in any way Check the IMEI of the phone against the receipt If you purchase a handset you should use an auditable payment method, such as cheque, credit transfer, Paypal to the named person. Do not pay into a third person’s account as you lose control of the transaction

6. How To Avoid Buying A Stolen Phone Serving our communities and protecting them from harm Phones reported as stolen will not work in the UK This block will not be removed by any network provider, even if the phone was bought in good faith Read the wording of an advert carefully: phrases such as ‘Does not work in UK, but works abroad’ indicate that the phone is stolen If you do find that you have bought a stolen phone Report it to your local police to investigate

7. How To Deal With Thefts Serving our communities and protecting them from harm Register for free at immobilise.com to help get a lost or stolen phone back.immobilise.com Block your phone – contact your network provider or call 08701 123 123. Trace lost or stolen phones by activating their in-built tracker app or by downloading a reputable one from your app store. Immobilise is the world's largest free register of possession ownership details and, together with its sister sites the police's NMPR and ChckMEND, forms a very effective tool in helping to reduce crime and repatriate recovered personal property to its rightful owners. The site can be used by members of the public and businesses to register their valued possessions.

8. Tracking Software Serving our communities and protecting them from harm Tracking software allows the owner to locate their phone. In some cases, this can be done even if the phone is switched off. What else can the software do? Some applications allow the owner to: Scream – activate a loud alarm on the phone (even on silent) Message – display a message on the screen to show the phone has been lost or stolen Lock - remotely lock the phone from the web Wipe – remove all data from the phone, including contacts and user accounts Apps are available from: Find My iphone - https://ssl.apple.com/uk/icloud/find-my-iphone.htmlhttps://ssl.apple.com/uk/icloud/find-my-iphone.html Android (Google Play) - https://play.google.com/store?hl=en_GBhttps://play.google.com/store?hl=en_GB Blackberry - http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/?%3fcountrycode=DE&lang=en http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/?%3fcountrycode=DE&lang=en

9. Information/Actions To Help Get A Stolen Phone Recovered Serving our communities and protecting them from harm Make, model and serial number of the handset Mobile service provider Whether it is a 'contracted' phone or 'pay as you go‘ The IMEI number Any specific identifying features Is it property marked (e.g. UV marker, or a proprietary brand) A photograph of the item Whether it is locked with a PIN Registering the phone on 'Immobilise' Registering the phone as stolen (or lost) on the National Mobile Property Register Trying to locate the phone using any tracking software or a security application installed on the phone