Over The Air 2011: Stolen and lost phones - can mobile phone applications help with the problem?

Detective Sergeant Andy Williams

• National Mobile Crime Unit – based in Notting Hill
• Criminals stealing to order
• Cops are not the most technologically advanced people – when Andy wants something done, he asks his children…
• in 2001, 45% street crime linked to mobiles
  
  • this was from the British Crime Survey – not reported crime, but surveyed
• current stats:
  
  • 9.7% of all UK crime accounted for by theft of a handset
  • 60% of mobile phones stolen in personal robberies are iPhones or BlackBerrys
    
    • not just the phone is high value, but the data on the phones
  • avg 8,000 phones stolen every month in london

what happens to stolen phones?

• used until blocked (by IMEI)
  
  • IMEI blocking works across UK, 60% of Europe, plus North & South America coming in soon
  • but main export markets are North Africa (mainly Algeria) & Romania
• some handsets are vulnerable to having their IMEI changed (so can be unblocked)
• phones used for parts (broken screens, etc)
• phones used for non-phone functions – mp3 player, etc
• blocking:
  
  • operator will block SIM
  • will also request IMEI to be blocked
• individual can install a theft tracking app, but police would need a signed warrant
  
  • police can’t monitor 8,000 phones a month
• IMEIs are personal data in Germany
• phones offered on eBay, shown as blocked or no signal

immobilise – national property register

http://immobilise.com

• if device is registered with immobilise, police don’t need to go through RIPA
• can put anything with a serial number on there
• can check on people’s phones when stop people on the street
• private company set up and operated in conjunction with the police

formation of NMPCU

• initially front line - reducing robbery
• expanded to all acquisitive crime
• working at all levels of crime - local through to organised
• now an offence to offer to reprogram a phone (change the IMEI)

Police Central eCrime Unit

• trying to combat cyber-criminals
• looking at denial of service attacks, etc
• front line police notoriously poor at dealing with cyber crime
• but no law enforcement agency that specialises in all areas of cyber crime
• most expertise is in the forensic area
• judicial system is not set up to deal with cyber crime
• judicial boundaries don’t help – if online connections are not in UK…
• recently starting up new kind of officer: Covert Internet Investigator
• not very many across the country

Case study: organised criminals targeting music events

• following same bands the whole time
  
  • bands with mosh pits…
• Download 2010: 3 people found with 140 phones buried under their tent

Security & new mobile tech

• Man City gave 20 season ticket holders their tickets on their phone
• if someone steals your phone, they have access to your wallet, your ticket, your flat…
• NFC requirements requested by police:
  
  • PIN required for all payments – not gonna happen!
    
    • at the moment, 5 payments of £10 until a PIN required
  • capture IMEI during transactions
    
    • possible but not gonna happen
  • compulsory registration with financial institution
    
    • may happen

key areas

• registration at point of sale
• carphone warehouse register 25,000 phones a day at Xmas
• only 4 in 10 PIN lock their phone
  
  • significant barrier
• locating devices post theft
  
  • works ok, but not great – won’t work if someone goes into a block of flats
• identification of a SIM change post theft

checkMEND

http://www.recipero.com/checkmend

• can find out if an IMEI is stolen
• some operators run this service for free
• but otherwise may cost £1 a shot