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Smartphone Mugging More Popular Than Ever
SternisheFan writes with this snippet from gizmodo: "The Associated Press reports that smartphone robberies now account for nearly half of all robberies in San Francisco, as well as an impressive 40 percent here in New York City. And the numbers aren't just high, they're getting higher fast. In Los Angeles, smartphone robberies are up 27 percent from last year, with no signs of slowing down. The thefts come in all varieties as well. Victims have reported having their phones—iPhones in particular (surprise!)—yanked out of their hands while talking, snatched just as public transit reaches a stop, or even taken at gunpoint." When I was relieved at gunpoint of my (very, very dumb) phone a few years ago in Philadelphia (very, very dumb), it made for a lousy evening. Have you been robbed (or accosted) like this? If so, where?
They can just be sold in another country. Lots of stolen cars in Mexico and none are being run for vin/plates in America... Same thingin EU.
IMEI blacklists are widely used in Europe. The problem is that, at least in Norway, few people actually bother to have the IMEI blacklisted if the phone is stolen. I get this impression from a number of forum posts where people seem oblivious to the possibility, and also other people openly admitting to be using stolen phones without being blocked (or visited by the police, even though they use a SIM registered in their name...).
Unfortunately, there are people in the criminal world who specialize in doing things other criminals cannot; chop shop operators reduce cars to parts for resale, fences resell stolen property, money launderers of various sorts make ill-gotten gains look legitimate. I suspect that were IMEI blacklisting to become ubiquitous, we would see criminals specializing in reprogramming IMEIs. Might slow the torrent of theft, though.
iPhone theft inclines the victim to purchase a new phone. Deterring iPhone theft would reduce that purchasing pressure. It doesn't matter to Apple if they get paid out of pocket or from an insurance payout.
So breaking South Korean law is a legitimate reason to change your IMEI number? Do you also put fake number plates on your car when you drive there?
The wireless carriers do not care about stolen smartphones because they get to sell a new device to the victim and a new data plan to the next user of the stolen device,