There has been an explosion in the number of websites offering to buy mobile phones for cash, and they’re a good way to get back a reasonable sum of cash for an unwanted mobile.
But because they’ve made it so easy to sell a phone, these sites have become a bit useful for mobile phone thieves, who are using them as a simple way to generate cash.
The reason they can get away with this is that although phones that are reported stolen in the UK are blocked from UK networks, mobile phone recyclers tend to sell a lot of their phones abroad (haven’t you wondered who’s willing to buy all of these old phones?), where they will still work.
But this little loophole should now be shut.
It’s taken a while, but 15 mobile phone recyclers (representing 90% of the industry) have now signed up to a new code of practice in which all phones sent to them will be checked on 1 of 3 databases. If the phone appears on any of them, it has been stolen, it will not be purchased by the company and crucially the sender will be reported to police.
It’s hoped that this simple measure will make mobile phone theft less profitable, and eventually cut the amount of mobiles stolen.
photo credit: Johan Larsson