US Carriers Join Forces to Fight Cell Phone Theft: Plan to Create a Central Stolen Phone Database
It’s not everyday that we see all of the US carriers agree on something, but in this case it’s cell phone theft that has banded everyone together. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint have all joined forces with the US government to create a central database for stolen cell phones. The plan proposes that the database will blacklist any stolen device listed and block it from working on US shores. Each individual carrier will create or expand their current stolen device database over the next six months before combining their data into one large central data pool. Each carrier will then be responsible for maintaining their portion of the data. Additionally, regional carriers will look to add their own data over the next two years.
Here is what Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, had to say about the proposal:
“New technologies create new risks, and we wanted to find a way to reduce the value of stolen smartphones. It’s just too easy for a thief to steal a phone and sell it on the black market. This program will make it a lot harder to do that. And the police departments we are working with tell us that it will significantly deter this kind of theft.”
The explosion of smartphone sales has also brought a nationwide surge in cell phone theft as an unfortunate side effect. Thieves are able to easily sell stolen mobile devices on online sites like Amazon, Craigslist, or eBay where it is harder for law enforcement to manage these type of transactions. While the exact details of the database have yet to be ironed out yet, we can now look for its creation in the near future. What do you think? Do you think a central database like this will actually deter criminals from stealing and selling stolen devices? Let us know in the comments below.
