Friday, April 13, 2012
The end to cell phone theft?
From the Daily News:
Prodded by Sen. Charles Schumer and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the feds and phone carriers are cracking down on cell phone theft, the fastest-growing crime in New York City.
Schumer and Kelly joined other officials Tuesday to announce the creation of a landmark industry database of every cell phone’s unique ID number — making it easy to deactivate and render useless any purloined phone.
Schumer will also introduce legislation making it a federal crime to tamper with or alter a cell phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number in order to activate a stolen phone.
The new procedures, agreed to by the FCC and the industry, will make it virtually impossible for stolen phones to be resold on the black market, a huge criminal industry in urban areas.
7 comments:
Bunch of BS, whats the real intent ?
The hipsters flashing $400 PDA phones & tablets on the subway 3AM deserve to have them stolen! Why force this TROJAN on everybody ?
This proposal is by design and WILL be used as a TROJAN for big brother if passed.
The broke ass government don't have the $$ to properly fund department of homeland security so they are selling us this "big favor".
To make this work big brother and the cops will need a database of EISN numbers and have direct access to everybody cellphones ROM. Radio Tranceiver and operating system.
This in turn can give access to ANYTHING in the phone like software, files, camera, microphone, browser files, phone book, call logs.
It's intent will be abused and become disaster for privacy.
Were talking database, keyloggers and linking things up.
Formally a phone service only released that info on a need to know basis to law enforcement.
This is a HUGE perk for the big company's like ATT and Verizon who are the ones lobbying and scmoozing for this.
Under this proposal you will have to get your cellphones from them. AS in "Locked" cellphones with ROMs that block WIFI, SKYPE, GPS and anything else they cant add to a billing plan and its taxes and surcharges
Forget buying that nice fully loaded PDA with Wifi and GPS from Singapore on Ebay. You will no longer be able to drop in your SIM card and simply configuring your email WAP and GRPS and go. (self activation)
The intent of this proposal is not for customers benefit one dam bit !! !!
Joe's points are valid here, to which I'd add that these phones will only be unusable here...not in other countries(meaning the entire rest of the world).
So. I'll be seeing an Iphone stolen on the Lexington ave line being sold at Pantip Plaza.
A little touch of home.
Anyone else tired of Schumer and his puppet Gillibrand?
Time to go back to CBs & Walkie Talkies !!
Once the big communications company's have everybody by the balls with this backdoor Trojan they will triple cellphone charges & taxes.
That's why these people want this
"Chuck" is a clueless asshole for going along with this without some agreements to protect customers from being raped from behind and spied on by the cops at the same time.
Hacks with zero backgrounds in electronics should not be making these decisions and deals with phone company's.
This is just as bad and corrupt as Clintons Telecommunication's act of 96.
--Ned.
A LARGE amount of these thefts have been occurring on the subway. How about more transit cops patrolling either in uniform or in plainclothes, instead of making them looking to write summonses and make arrests for people sitting on the stairs and putting their feet on the subway seats!
How about if my cell is stolen, I call and inactivate it? HELLOOOO!
HIRE BACK THE 5000 COPS YOU LET GO BY ATTRITION! Oh we have to increase welfare payments instead.Blame crime on everything but a lack of police!
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