Android and Nokia smartphones are the most stolen phones in Nigeria, findings from an investigation have shown.
Also, Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Rivers, Kano and Kaduna top list of states with biggest black markets of stolen smartphones.
This revelation came at a time when there had been a steady rise in cases of stolen smartphones and other devices across the country.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Enugu State, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, disclosed that two traders were recently arrested for buying stolen Nokia Lumia and iPhone 5 devices from a student.
“We have had so many cases of stolen smartphones in the states and they are usually Android phones, especially those of iPhones, Samsung and HTC phones. Then there are the latest make of Lumia and Asha phones on Nokia,” Amaraizu said.
He said the police in the state had arrested so many of the suspects involved in this business.
“In recent times, the command has arrested five persons for allegedly stealing stolen smartphones from their alleged owners at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium during a match when a suspect entered the dressing room of Rangers Football Club.
“We have also arrested suspects at bus stops during rush hour. We have also arrested some of them who openly hawk these phones on Bisala Road and at Tunnel area,” the Enugu police spokesperson added.
His counterpart in Lagos State, Ngozi Braide, shared Amaraizu’s view, but couldn’t provide substantial data.
She said, “I would need time to properly look through the data base before I can come up with any statistic on the number of reported cases of stolen smartphones, the brand of smartphones that are mostly stolen, indices on the recovery rate of these phones and the circumstances in which they are mostly stolen.”
However, our correspondent discovered that most smartphones stolen were personalised with images and backgrounds with contacts added, calls made and messages sent.
“They are all then blocked or reported stolen to the networks, yet they are still sold,” said a dealer in smartphones at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos.
Several phone dealers at Computer Village shared these views, and stated that as soon as smartphones were stolen from the original owners, the thieves would immediately throw away the SIM card.
A phone accessory dealer at Computer Village, Mr. Chukwunonso Ebenezer, hinted that virtually all stolen phones have ‘find-my-phone’ style blocks activated, and in theory, their International Mobile Equipment Identity number means they are not useable once reported stolen.
Ebenever, who runs Favoured Technological Services, however, said it was easy to get round such features using only a laptop.
He said, “From software engineers and experts, we discovered that they could give a device a new IMEI number, thereby changing the phone’s fingerprint and ensuring it could be used as normal.”
Ebenezer said restoring the phone’s default software would remove ‘find-my-phone’ protection, saying, “Just some clicks on the mouse and the phone is turned from a paperweight back to a useable device again.”
Investigation showed that fundamental redesign of smartphones to place the IMEI number on a ‘read-only’ part of the device would prevent this. There are, however, complaints that manufacturers have been reluctant to do this.
But authorities within Microsoft office in Lagos reliably informed The PUNCH that the company would incorporate a “kill switch” into the next version of their smartphone (Nokia) operating systems as evidence mounts that such security measures may be deterring theft. It is equally the same case as Android, as gathered from a Samsung outlet in Lagos.
Mobile phone technology companies have faced pressure from public officials over the past year to add mechanisms for disabling the devices if they are lost or stolen, to help curb resale.
More than 30 per cent of robberies in major cities involve mobile phones, with smartphones often targeted because of their high value.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, had said in a statement recently that it would add a “factory reset protection solution” to its next version of Android.
Microsoft’s Vice President for the United States of America Government Affairs, Fred Humphries, had also said the Redmond, Washington-based company, would offer new theft-deterrence mechanisms in an update for phones running its software, including those made by Nokia Oyj.
“With these additional features, we’re hopeful that technology -– as part of a broader strategy -– can help to further reduce incentives for criminals,” Humphries said.
Posted by , Published at 2:48 AM and have
0
comments
No comments:
Post a Comment