Wireless Competitors Join Forces with Government to Battle Phone Theft

By Karla Robinson
April 11, 2012

The U.S. government is joining the top wireless providers to fight cellphone theft with the creation of a centralized database for stolen phones.
Using the database to track stolen phones by their serial numbers, the carriers — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel — will be able to deny access to voice and data networks. This will hopefully make the devices impossible to use after they’ve been reported stolen.
Additionally, the initiative will include a program to educate consumers on mobile privacy, “teaching them how to remotely lock their phones, delete personal information, and track their devices’ location,” Mashable reports.
The carriers will create their databases within six months, which will then be consolidated into one large database within a year.
Similar programs in Australia, France, Germany, and the UK have proven successful in reducing — if not entirely eliminating — phone theft.

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