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Iain Graham

Iain Graham is the voice of The Fonecast. He’s a veteran of the mobile industry, having held senior positions with One2One (now T-Mobile) and Vodafone since the 1980s. Iain left his role as Vodafone’s Head of Indirect Business in 2005 to become a consultant and professional toastmaster. His sense of humour and no-nonsense attitude makes him the perfect person to host each edition of The Fonecast… and to work with your company.

James Rosewell

James Rosewell is the technical wizard who built The Fonecast web site and created his own easy-to-use podcast software. He started his career at the sharp end of technology, as a key member of a small team in a high-growth software start-up. James then spent 10 years with Vodafone, where he established a technology account management function that brought control to a £25m programme. He led the team of 100 people that replaced Vodafone’s Retail IT platform and grew service provision IT systems in line with Vodafone’s exponential expansion during the late 1990s. James passionately believes in the benefits mobile applications provide and is currently bringing those benefits to web developers through the open source project 51Degrees.

Mark Bridge

Mark Bridge is writer and podcast producer for The Fonecast. The rest of the time he’s a freelance writer who’s focussed on the mobile phone and IT industries. Mark has over 15 years’ experience working with fixed-line and mobile communications, beginning his career as a telephone engineer before finding sanctuary within the warmth of an office. As well as copywriting and consulting, he also turns up occasionally as the ‘gadget expert’ or 'mobile phone expert' on radio and TV. He’s committed to making technology easier to understand – through his writing, in his broadcasting and through his contribution to The Fonecast.

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Friday, July 23, 2010

New deal to close stolen phone recycling loophole worth £4 million

UK Crime Prevention Minister James Brokenshire has announced a new mobile industry code of practice that's designed to stop stolen phones being recycled for cash.

90% of handsets reported stolen in the UK are now blocked across all networks within 48 hours of reporting, making them virtually useless to criminals trying to sell them within the UK. However, until now it's been possible to sell these phones to recycling companies as the handset serial number (the IMEI) wasn't checked against the 'blocked' list. With an estimated 100,000 stolen mobile phones sold to recycling companies every year, this could have generated around £4 million for criminals.

Twenty recycling companies –around 90% of the industry – have signed up to the new code of practice. They'll work closely with police and check the details of every phone they are offered against the National Mobile Phone Register. This is linked to the mobile industry database of blocked mobiles, the police database of mobiles reported stolen and the voluntary Immobilise register. If the handset has been reported as stolen, the recycler will refuse to buy the phone and will pass details of the phone and the potential seller to the police.

The code of practice has been developed by the Telecommunications Fraud Forum (TUFF), the government and police representatives.

James Brokenshire said "Tackling crime effectively is not just a job for government alone, action at all levels of society is needed to make a real difference. This new agreement is a perfect example of what this approach can achieve. By joining forces with the police, the mobile phone industry is closing a multi-million pound loophole that has been exploited by criminals and the industry should be congratulated. Alongside the impressive work on blocking stolen phones, this code will make mobile phone theft an even less profitable crime."

Jack Wraith, chairman of the Mobile Industry Crime Action Forum, said "The industry welcomes this very important initiative on the part of the recyclers. It not only closes off an avenue used by criminals to gain from theft of mobile phones, it also demonstrates those recyclers who have signed up to the scheme are serious in their efforts to support the continuing battle against mobile phone theft."

Author: The Fonecast

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Categories: Networks and operators, NewsNumber of views: 9453

Tags: uk security environment police crime micaf recycling tuff

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New deal to close stolen phone recycling loophole worth £4 million

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