Waste Management and Recycling News

23-07-2010

Mobile phone recycling companies agree strategy on stolen phones

Mobile phone recycling companies across the UK have come together to agree on a strategy designed to combat the sale of stolen mobile phones. With the trade thought to be worth £4m per year, thieves are selling mobiles, locked from UK networks, for them to be reused abroad.

The agreement sees the recycling firms checking serial numbers of phones against a national database system, then reporting the stolen ones to the Police. The mobile phone serial numbers are checked against the following 3 systems: the industry database of blocked mobiles, the Police database of mobiles reported stolen, and a voluntary public register of mobile ownership called Immobilise. To date, more than 15 mobile recycling companies have signed up to the agreement. The main aim of the system is to make stealing mobile phones less appealing, less profitable and to lead to more arrests.

If you do have your mobile phone stolen you are advised to report the incident immediately to the Police and to your service provider to block the phone. For more information regarding the Immobilise scheme please visit www.immobilise.com.

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