Stolen Mobiles

Faltermyer

I work for one of the Networks.

We have had an EIR for approx 6-8months now. What is being reported in the papers in the CEIR(Central Equipment Identity Register). i.e. It is linked between the 3networks.

The only phone that we will block is the phone that is registered as the handset our customer purchased when joining the network, if indeed they purchased a phone.

Whether Post-Paid or Pre-Paid, requirements to EIR-Blacklist a handset or Suspend/block a subscriber are the same, it comes under the Data Protection Act once they are registered regardless of the query, whether the call is to block a handset, give a call history or help with top up.

If anyone doesnt follow this procedure(which I realise is certainly the case a lot of the time, then I suggest you make a complaint, its your phone/money/info afterall! - on the other hand, dont go balistic at the operator if he/she wont deal with you because its a SIM you got off your mother/cousin/friend and its still registered to them)

That is: 3pieces of info from a Subscribers a/c. Name, Address, and either: Date of Birth, PIN or Password(as chosen at registration-you can specify that no call be dealt with on your line without this being verified if you wish).

For an unregistered Pre-Paid number, procedure is to verify 3 numbers dialed in first month of use, or first week if under a month old. Obviously, these will be among the numbers the customer dials regularly.

One other point of note, is that the CEIR only applies to phones stolen since it was introduced about a month back. Phones stolen previous to that will still be on their respective networks own EIR if it was active at the time of theft. Afaik, there are no plans to add all these handsets to the CEIR, or to add handsets stolen previous to the EIR's to the system as it would be too expensive resources/timewise with very little benefit at this stage.

Bren

sceptre

Interesting extra info there Bren, thanks for that

Faltermyer

No bother.

Just thought it would be good to put some facts amongst the hearsay.

Stephen

So how are sim-free phones handled by the EIR? Take me for instance, I'm on an O2 contract, with which I got a Nokia 8310. I've since bought a Sony Ericsson T610 from the UK and sold on the 8310. When I use the network with the new phone does the IMEI automatically get associated with my number or what?

Faltermyer

No, well not really...

It would be possible to see what IMEI you are using, but it does not get "Linked" or "Logged" with your account in any way. So if you called after your phone being stolen, Only your SIM could be blocked.

So basicly, phones not purchased directly from the Network are not handled by the EIRs/CEIR.

Though I suppose some scheme could be introduced whereby if you can provide proof of purchase it could be added...?

BrianD

Useful info Bren and clarifys many things that all of were not definite on here.

In regard to SIM free phones - I think if you have registered online with your operator you can input your handset and IMEI details there. This means that in theory your SIM, IMEi and user details should be linked.

Faltermyer

Im not sure on the other networks but our online registration system does not feature an IMEI field.

I was with one of the other networks for 4&1/2 yrs before I started working here, but that was prior to even the EIR's, and I joined them before the days of online registration.

BrianD

My Vodafone lets you register and update your handset details online. When you upgrade you need to amend your details.

oneweb

I voted yes, but it'll only happen if everybody KNOWS about the facility, REPORTS the theft immediately, and doesn't take the "ah sure I can always just get a new one".

If most of the thefts were reported and those phones blocked, the thieves would tire of their wasted efforts.

jesus_thats_gre

You can effectively barr any handset that has been used on your acccount. Whether you know your IMEI is also irrelevent.

The procedure to block your phone is as follows (may vary slightly depending on operator). You call your operator, you tell them you wanna block your handset and you verify whatever personal details with them. If you know the IMEI number of your handset all the better, if not, they can find it.

You give them your IMEI, they ask you for a date of the last time you used that phone over 48 hours ago. They check the IMEI against call logs on that date and that verifies the IMEI. If will not work if you used your sim in more than one handset that day however, so must have been using that handset for a full 24 hour period.

If you do not know the IMEI, simply give them a date that you last used your phone and they will be able to extract your IMEI from their call logs. The same rule applies, you can only being using the one handset for the 24 hours of that day.

Whether a handset was purchased sim free, from another operator and so on makes no difference again.