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UK Firm To Release 'Screaming' Cell Phone
rubberbando writes "Yahoo news is running a story about a plan by a UK cell phone company to help reduce cell theft. Apparently, this new cell phone can be sent a signal after its owner has realized that it has been lost or stolen. The signal tells the phone to wipe all of its data and begin emitting a very loud and obnoxious sound. The sound will only stop if the battery runs out or is removed, but it will begin again as soon as the battery is replaced or charged. Even replacing the sim card will not help."
It sounds from the description that these phones will become functionally useless once you do this to them. What a fun prank to pull on your friends!
And I thought cell phones were already loud and obnoxious...
There's a hardware GUID. Whoopdy-do; if there's a remote method to turn it on via software, there's a method to turn it off via software.
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
The thing I don't get is how exactly they expect this to be any more loud and obnoxious than all these damn ringtones are already!
If cell phones could scream, would we be so cavalier about smashing them on the ground? We might, if they screamed all the time for no good reason.
Paul Grosfield - the quicker picker upper.
The signal tell the phone to wipe all of its data and begin emitting a very loud and obnoxious sound.
Isn't this what happens if Paris Hilton calls you?
Push Button, Receive Bacon
"We also then set a small bomb off, if you like, that completely wipes the data...
As well as the ear and most of the face of the thief? Seems a little harsh.
I would prefer if the phone could silently send me a usage report so that I could track who stole it and kick him in the a....
Let's face it, a good proportion of "stolen" phones are people that want a free upgrade from the network. Oh look, they don't make that model any more, and coincidentally I was mugged today. Like the person that rung from the phone that was being reported stolen.
Screaming Jay Hawkins... "I put a spell on you, cause you're mine."
How long will it be until something like this is implemented to "punish" those that are late on paying their bill or for people who decide they want to switch service providers?
So someone stole a phone, and now it is making a very loud unpleasant noise. So they have dumped it near my house and it is still making the noice and I am very annoyed. So I hit it with a brick until it stops.
Question: who gets taken to court? The phone manufacturer, for creating a noise nuisance? Or the thief, for stealing the phone? Or me, for damaging someone else's property?
I know the answer: it will be me, won't it?
But as anybody can locate a SIM in the cell to which it transmits, sensible thieves replace SIMs anyway.
Exercise your right not to vote. thinkoutside.org
I lost my mobile 3 times over a period of a few years. Yes the same one. Every time some saint returned it to the local police station and I'd get it back. Quite amazing considering the inner city area I live in Sydney.
... then suddenly this phone starts screaming like a Blitzkreig air raid, and in the panic they stomp my phone into a fine power and run off traumatised !! Fat lot of good THAT feature would do me :)
But I can just imagine them feeling all gooey inside about the good deed they are about to do
Well, they used the IMEI number of the phone that is tied to the hardware, although someone with the rights skills might be able to change the flash memory where it's stored. (By the way, you can see the number by typing *#06#). It requires cooperation of the mobile phone providers though, that should have a blacklist of stolen IMEI numbers and take appropriate action as soon as a stolen phone connects to the network.
If this is a private initiative, it seems unlikely that all providers are going to cooperate with keeping track of IMEIs. It's more likely to work by sending a special SMS message to the phone number, which can easily be circumvented by the thief if he recognizes that it is a "screaming" phone and replaces the SIM directly after the theft.
And never mind that you have to figure out the call center phone number to report the loss because all your phone numbers are stored inside the handset. By the way, how is this going to help you get back your phone? The thief will get rid of the phone, and it might be found by someone. But you need a secure system to make sure that only the rightful owner can de-scream it.
Avantslash: low-bandwidth mobile slashdot.
This isn't innovation! Anyone that lives in the UK will know that not only was this done yonks ago, but it even made it into the Top of the Pops when it came out.
throw new NoSignatureException();
Screaming not annoying enough for you? The next version will randomly spew a stream of urine.
Hi,
Cell phones (GSM at least) Already have a GUID which is transmitted all the time while the phone is switched on.
It is easy for operators to track the position of a stolen cellphone down to about a meter if they wanted to.
They have used this to track down the polish kid who knifed someone to death over an iPod.
If you have a cellphone and it's switched on, it's transmitting a guid and position continuously, always.
This is why I think the spat in the UK about ID cards is silly, most people in the UK own a cellphone and it's freely, continuously and permanently giving away their identity AND position.
Anyways. in short, if someone stole your GSM and you tell the police it's attached to a drum of sarin gas, they *will find it* in no time.
Actually, if your phone is GSM, then you can already do that.
First and foremost, you must write down your IMEI number. Simply type *#06# into your cell phone. It may look like: AA-BBBBBB-CCCCCC-D . That is the serial number of the phone, and it will not change if the SIM is changed. Write it down into a safe place.
When your phone is stolen, report that number to the police. They will report it to the providers, that will lock down the cell phone for good; moreover, if the phone is ever turned on, they may be able to track the thief whereabouts, using standard cell tecnology; that, and an identikit, may actually help them arrest the thief.
A friend of mine, (who is in IT business) did all of the above, and she really had the thief arrested and prosecuted.
The Dept. of Homeland Security called.
They want their paranoia back.
Excellent! I am writing the number down right now in the memo pad application on my cell phone!
This is yet another one-trick pony. Basically, a few years ago, desperate investors, not yet burnt enough by the dotcom boom, realised they should be backing "mobile" ventures. Anything would do, as long as it was "mobile".
Note that these guys charge £100 / year ($220). Given that the average mobile would cost £200 to replace (tops, brand new) and you get a free one every year or two with a contract - they are suggesting you pay an insurance premium of c. 50% of the phone value, for a phone which you'll probably be getting rid of soon - and which the networks will disable if you report stolen. Oh yeah, and you don't actually get the phone back, it just screams.
To be fair - the real benefit is that it backs up the data on the phone; but if you're sensitive enough to spend £100/yr on this service, you ought to find a better way. The fact that this is "Home Office and Police backed" just goes to show how readily these agencies piss our money on pointlessness.
Am I the only person that finds this new 'trend' amongst teenagers on trains antisocial and inconsiderate?
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
Their are posters from the Met Police all over London telling people to write down their IMEI numbers and report them in the instance of theft. They're making more effort than they were.