A New Blacklist Of Stolen Smartphones Will Help Deter Device Theft
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The CTIA, an international organization made up of wireless carriers and suppliers, announced that it had finished building its database of stolen smartphones, part of its work with police chiefs from major cities to deter smartphone theft.
A frustration of law enforcement officials across the globe is that criminals that steal smartphones often ship them out of the country that they steal them in so that the devices can be resold and activated on wireless networks that have no record of the theft.
The database will register stolen devices so that they can be blacklisted by wireless carriers even when the device is outside of a particular carrier's network of subscribers. Carriers hope that by refusing to provide service to people using blacklisted devices they will be able to reduce the incentive for stealing smartphones.
Construction of the database began last year and the announcement of its implementation comes just before the November 30, 2013 deadline. (CTIA)
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