Beating the robbers
12 April 2012
Every mobile phone has a unique identifying number called an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identification). It can be accessed by tapping *#06# into the handset.
At the moment, if a phone is stolen, network providers will block the user's number so that calls cannot be run up on the bill.
But thieves can still use the phone by inserting a new SIM card.
It is only by adopting the technology to bar the handset itself that phone providers can leave thieves holding a useless piece of technology.