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Inside the Stolen Smartphone Black Market In London

Posted by samzenpus on from the pre-owned-like dept.

First time accepted submitter WebAgeCaveman (3615807) writes in with news about just how big the stolen smartphone black market is. "A black market of shops and traders willing to deal in stolen smartphones has been exposed by a BBC London undercover investigation. Intelligence was received that some shops across a swathe of east London were happy to buy phones from thieves. Two traders were filmed buying Samsung S3 and iPhone 4 devices from a researcher posing as a thief - despite him making it clear they were stolen. The shops involved have declined to comment."

3 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. Changing IMEI is illegal by kentrel · · Score: 5, Informative

    Under a 2002 law it was made illegal to change the IMEI unless you're the manufacturer. However, under a 2006 amendment to the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 it was made illegal to even OFFER to do this. You don't have to actually change the IMEI to commit the offense, you just have to offer or say you will. Punishment is up to 5 years in prison. The smartphone blackmarket could be wiped out just by enforcing this law.

    1. Re:Changing IMEI is illegal by Sneftel · · Score: 3, Informative

      Storing the IMEI in PROM instead of EEPROM would have no effect on production costs. Fuse bits are, if anything, cheaper than their rewritable equivalent (though IMEIs are what, 64 bits, so honestly it wouldn't make a cent of difference).

      --
      The opinions stated herein do not necessarily represent those of anybody at all. Deal with it.
  2. Re:Phone numbers by Amnenth · · Score: 3, Informative

    The IMEI isn't a routable phone number. It's an identifier (that is supposed to be) unique to each handset, somewhat like a serial number.