Watch the video above: With phone theft on the rise, is the national blacklist working? Sean O’Shea reports.
TORONTO – Over 30,000 cell phones were stolen in Toronto over the past ten years, according to a new report.
But the national “blacklist” of stolen phones is trying to eliminate the market for stolen cell phones.
“We had been hearing from law enforcement and other groups across the country that stolen phones were becoming a problem,” Mark Choma, director of communications for the CWTA said. “With law enforcement it really wasn’t the increase in stolen phones, it was the violence they were seen associated with those robberies.”
The blacklist was set up by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) in September and can be reviewed at protectyourdata.ca.
It’s meant to deter people from buying or selling stolen phones by having the device banned by the major carriers. To get on the list, the phone’s owner has to call their carrier and report the phone stolen. After answering a host of security questions and proving the phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number – a unique number given to each phone – the phone will be added to the national blacklist. Once it’s on the list mobile carriers will cut off service to the phone.
“Really, these are very expensive devices,” Choma said. “Some people are paying $600, $700, $800 for a device. But in the eyes a thief, now in Canada, it’s virtually worthless.”
It’s not known how effective the blacklist has been since it was launched in September but Arkan Amanalla, owner of Buy N Cell, a pawn shop specializing in cell phones, says the blacklist has helped his business.
“Of course it’s really good for our business because it saves us from the trouble,” he said in an interview Monday.
His employees will check the IMEI against the national database, if the phone is stolen, they won’t buy it. If it’s not on the blacklist, they’ll get the person’s identification, address and phone number and buy the phone from them for resale.
But the blacklist sometimes takes 24 to 48 hours to update, Amanalla said. In that case, if a phone they purchased turns out to be stolen, they’ll call the person back with an ultimatum, take the phone and return the money or they’ll call the police.
And police Chief Bill Blair recently called for another weapon to fight phone-theft; a so-called “kill switch.”
The “kill switch” would be an option for the phone carrier to immediately deactivate any phone reported as stolen.
It would have to be implemented by manufacturers, of which, almost all are outside of Canada. But a kill switch on phones within Canada may get some help due to similar legislation being proposed by four democratic senators in the United States.
– With files from Sean O’Shea
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