Category Archives: Crime

Crime, Immobilise, Mobile Phones, Police

For thieves Christmas is a time for taking

For most of us Christmas is a time for giving, however as the West Midlands Police festive crime awareness campaign suggests, Christmas is also a time for taking.

Officers are launching a crime awareness initiative today (Wednesday 3 December) to put crime prevention awareness at the front of people’s minds as they prepare for the busy holiday season.

Robbery, shoplifting, vehicle crime, fraud and petty thefts traditionally rise at this time of year and people can easily fall prey to thieves as they may not be as security conscious as usual.

December’s dark nights give burglars plenty of cover to break into houses. Householders are reminded not to leave valuables and presents where they can be seen by passers by looking into the house.

The top five valuables burglars look for are:

  1. cash
  2. jewellery
  3. computers, including laptops and play stations
  4. credit and debit cards
  5. mobile phones

It is not just consumers that need to be more wary at this time of year, trades people are also urged to be wary and to proactively register items on immobilise.com:

Trades people are reminded to remove tools from their vans overnight, to postcode their equipment and register any tools with serial numbers at www.immobilise.com

The top five things stolen from vehicles are:

  1. auto accessories including hub caps, number plates and car badges
  2. audio items such as CDs
  3. car radios and CD players
  4. tools
  5. other on display items such as satellite navigation systems.

To read more please visit the West Midlands Police press site.

Crime, Immobilise, Police

Croydon police Christmas theft warning

In the run up to Christmas Croydon police have issued a special warning for local residents to help them avoid being victims of crime over the festive period. In addition to registration on the Immobilise National property register many of the other suggestions made apply equally to other regions:

Some of their recommendations are:

While out shopping be aware of pickpockets and thieves, carry your handbag in front of you so sticky fingers can’t get into it.

When out and about Christmas shopping, leave carrier bags with gifts in secure and out of site in your car but make sure you stay vigilant, thieves may well watch car parks for a chance to break into them.

When at home make sure you wait until Christmas Day before putting presents around your tree, they can make a tempting display for a burglar.

Burglars like an easy life and it’s not just Christmas cards that come through your letterbox so fit a letterbox hood.

Burglars can force some sash windows, especially old ones without key operated locks. A good way to reduce the risk is by fixing a window box planter to the window ledge and fitting proper window locks.

Don’t highlight the fact that you have gifts and presents to criminals by openly displaying the empty packaging outside by your bins.

Registering your possessions on the immobilise website increases your chances of being reunited with them should they be lost or stolen and come to the notice of the police.

To read the Croydon Guardian article in full please go to: http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/…

CheckMEND, Crime, Immobilise, Mobile Phones, Police

Cheltenham Police Urge Students To Keep Their Accommodation Secure

Gloucestershire Constabulary make some sensible recommendations for students:

Cheltenham Police are reminding students to keep their accommodation secure. The warning comes after two student homes in the town were burgled last week.

Sergeant Mark Stephens from Whaddon Safer Community Team, who are responsible for policing issues at the Francis Close Hall, Hardwicke and Pitville campuses said: “Sadly student houses are an easy target for burglaries as with several people coming and going from the property they are easily left insecure.”

“If you add up the cost of everything you own, ipod, television, bike, laptop and mobile phone, you’ll probably be surprised at the amount it comes to.

“Along with the financial ramifications of losing these items it can also be very upsetting and devastating to your university work if any of your notes were stored on the stolen items.”

In addition to registering property on the Immobilise Property Register, Cheltenham police also make these sensible suggestions:

  1. A remarkable number of burglaries occur because a window or door has been left open, so make sure you keep them closed.
  2. Do not leave cash or valuables on display in your room and make sure valuable items cannot be seen from the window.
  3. During the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays take all items of value home with you.
  4. Make sure your property is insured.
  5. Get valuables security marked.

To see the orginal article in full go to: Space – University of Gloucestershire Students Union

Crime, Immobilise, Police

South Wales Police recommend registration on Immobilise

The BBC News website has reported on a recent car crime spree in Cardiff. In addition to the usual anti theft messages South Wales Police also suggest that owners of the type of vehicles being targets should registered their radios on Immobilise to help identify thieves and return recovered property.

Ford Ka owners are being warned to be on their guard after a sharp rise in break-ins across Cardiff.

Thieves have broken into almost 90 cars since August and stolen their radios in the belief that they contain chips which can pick up free satellite TV.

Ch Insp Alun Morgan, who is responsible for auto crime in Cardiff, said: “I don’t wish to alarm car owners but as police we have a responsibility to make the public aware that Ford Kas are currently being targeted.

“My message to owners is to make sure their cars are secure, register their radio on the www.immobilise.com website and to be vigilant of anyone acting suspiciously.

To read the full BBC News Story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7755515.stm

Crime, Immobilise, Immobilize, Police

Immobilise recommended by Knowsley bike safety campaign

Registration on Immobilise is one of the key messages from the Knowsley, Liverpool Bike Safety Campaign

Putting the brakes on bike theft is simple if you follow the advice below:-

  • Ride with your mates whenever possible, not alone.
  • Avoid taking short cuts and stay away from dark streets and alleyways.
  • Use a good bike lock which can loop through the wheels, frame or seats.
  • Record and register your bike – log onto www.immobilise.com.
  • Never leave your bike unlocked and unattended.
  • Keep your bike in a locked garage or shed when not in use.

If you think you are being offered a stolen bike, ring Merseyside Police on 0151 709 6010 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

The Safer Knowsley Partnership includes Merseyside Police, Merseyside Police Authority, Knowsley Council, Knowsley Primary Care Trust, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and other partners, working with the community to reduce crime and disorder across Knowsley.

Read the full and original article.

CheckMEND, CheckMEND USA, Crime

E-fencing on eBay – let’s enforce the check before you buy!

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E-fencing – it’s an easy way to make fast cash and there are no regulations to stop you. BUT we can change this.

E-fencing is increasing everyday, according to CNBC , with the help of faceless online auction sites such as eBay and we need to really start looking into ways to overcome these issues. Well CheckMEND already have.

CNBC news in the USA have been really pushing the dangers consumers are facing in order to make e-fencing a more recognized problem.

The US-based National Retail Federation even went as far as to predict health problems caused by e-fencers re-selling stolen beauty products online, listing Cover Girl, Olay and RoC as the most common targets of e-fencing.
New York based Tiffany & Co has previously filed a lawsuit against eBay, and a host of other major retailers have all tried to persuade eBay and other online auction companies to combat e-fencing, but little has moved forward.

I have noticed a few online discussions by a number of cyber-crime bloggers about who is to blame and who’s responsibility it is. One I would like to highlight is, Investor Trip’s They point out the fact that eBay seem to be passing the buck. Quoting eBay’s Vice President of Trust & Safety Rob Chesnut: ‘increase theft protection at the retail level. It’s the job of these major retailers to prevent criminals from lifting their products.’

Although eBay is right, I still believe it is also the responsibility of eBay, and other online action sites, to protect their users. One simple way of doing this is to CHECKMEND IT. From our perspectives, asking all sellers to carry out a compulsory CheckMEND check would solve a lot of e-fencing problems.
Currently, there is an option to carry out a checkMEND report on eBay but it’s not compulsory. If we can persuade eBay to enforce then at least consumers will know they are shopping safely with eBay! Reassurance is all they need.

Anyway, here are some interesting snapshots of the top 10 eBay selling markets last year by rank, published on 14.05.2008 by Harris Interactive:
– Los Angeles-Long Beach, California
– 196,089 Los Angeles residents sold 24,051,645 items for a total of $1,396,037,518.
– Best-selling categories for Los Angeles sellers were cell phones and their accessories as well as clothing and accessories.
– Los Angeles sellers were also the most charitable eBay sellers last year, donating the most of any city via eBay Giving Works, eBay’s program that helps people buy and sell for a cause, turning e-commerce into a force for good.
New York

– 158,859 New York City residents sold 12,621,651 items for a total of $1,045,503,913.
– Best-selling categories for New York sellers were jewelry, gems, watches and clothing and accessories.

Chicago
172,972 Chicago residents sold 10,229,844 items for a total of $908,708,440.
Best-selling categories for Chicago sellers included toys and sports memorabilia.

Philadelphia
120,900 Philadelphia residents sold 7,069,212 items for a total of $584,383,915. Best-selling categories for Philadelphia sellers included collectibles and toys.

Dallas
85,484 Dallas residents sold 5,003,292 items for a total of $754,493,210. Best-selling categories for Dallas sellers included jewelry, gems and watches, and clothing and accessories. Dallas sellers also made more money on sales of cars and trucks than did sellers in any other top-10 U.S. seller market.
Orange County, California
75,486 Orange County residents sold 6,945,490 items for a total of $636,654,084.
Best-selling categories for Orange County sellers were auto parts and cell phones and accessories.
Washington, D.C.
112,462 D.C. residents sold 5,024,888 items for a total of $393,720,726. Best-selling categories for D.C. sellers included books and toys.
Houston
76,450 Houston residents sold 4,297,389 items for a total of $528,872,858. Best-selling categories for Houston sellers included health and beauty and collectibles.

Nassau-Suffolk, New York –
70,714 Nassau-Suffolk residents sold 5,396,880 for a total of $400,253,200. Sports memorabilia and health and beauty were best-selling categories here.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida –
39,623 Fort Lauderdale residents sold 2,838,954 items for a total of $631,845,063.
Best-selling categories for Fort Lauderdale sellers included home furnishings and auto parts.

The survey

was carried out by Harris Interactive. They also revealed that one in 10 US adults (that’s 11percent) is currently selling personal household items to generate extra cash, with the majority (59 percent) doing so via online sales

or auction sites like eBay. Additionally, 30 percent of all adults say they are likely to sell their personal or household items over the next three months to earn extra cash. Great, but are you sure they are not stolen!!!

So, lets all jump o

n the band wagon and make sure a CheckMEND check is enforced with all sales on eBay.

CheckMEND, CheckMEND USA, Crime, Police

The Serial Entrepreneur

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For those of you who have heard about it, but wondered what CheckMEND is and how it came about I thought I would give you the low down on why and how it all began.

Me, founder of CheckMEND.com

Lost my phone!

In 2000 I lost my phone on the London Underground and went to the lost property office to try to find it. However, I was then faced with the task of providing a serial number or what we also know as the IMEI number. But in 2000 no one had really heard of what an IMEI number was let alone know their own!

Anyway after eventually finding my IMEI number and recovering my phone, I realised that all modern consumer electronic products have a unique serial number and that without them there was little way of distinguishing one item from another. Thus, I formed the idea that there was a need in the market for a pre-loss or theft registration service containing these serial numbers.

Previous career path

My career has always involved providing services to the consumer, back in 2000, at the age of 40; I sold my chain of restaurants, bars and leisure facilities, with the aim of taking early retirement and relaxing after a very full working life… until the idea for CheckMEND hit me.

I decided to start up a company called Recipero (latin meaning to retain or recover), with a view to building a company that provided a range of products and services based on the accumulation, organisation and analysis of information relating to personal property ownership, associated criminality, fraud and illegal trading.

The simple pre-loss registration database:

The starting point was with a simple pre-loss registration database, but it quickly became apparent that there was value in the analysis of the data and potential to provide HPI-type data for consumer electronics. This was reinforced at the time with the explosion of online auction sites and the willingness of people to buy and sell second-hand goods online. All at the same time as the huge increase in the theft of mobile phones and other mobile devices such as laptops, ipods and the like.
The next three years was spent populating the MEND data warehouse and building partnerships across the mobile industry, with the likes of Carphone Warehouse and mobile phone networks. The police forces were also a vital partner for me.
Eventually, the system grew and now contains billions of pieces of discrete information and is accessed over a million times a month by the mobile phone industry, all UK Police forces, major insurers, the second hand trade, recyclers and the public.
CheckMEND.com was launched in 2006 and the CheckMEND database is now used extensively by second hand trade and the public the most common use of CheckMEND by the general public is for when they are buying or selling items from online auction sites like ebay.

Taking it international:

I can now safely say the company is well established and we are starting to focus on business outside the UK. 2008 will see two new launches for CheckMEND.com. One in the US, which the Recipero and CheckMEND teams are extremely excited about, with the U.S. being the largest market for consumer electronics. Not only that, we have already begun the process of launching in Asia too.

Obviously the road to where we are today didn’t all run as smoothly as suggested above, many a challenge was faced and problem overcome, but this is the CheckMEND story… so far…

Have a look at the youtube video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zcm9VFNvuQ

CheckMEND, CheckMEND USA, Crime, Mobile Phones

What’s Hot… stolen mobile phones

Following our last post on £5 billion stolen goods for sale online, it seems that online auction sites are taking the heat, but as Identity Resolution Daily points out, if they reduce, what is termed as e-fencing – selling stolen goods online –  they will lose most of their revenue.

However, if these auction sites ignore the statistics, and continue to allow themselves to be marketplaces for selling ‘stolen goods’ will mean that they will soon become high profile case studies for us.  Beware – You will get caught

There has been much discussion within the mobile tech community on whether CheckMEND is a good deal which our very own bat phone cleared up:

Hi, just to let you know CheckMEND ‘trade’ account is such only because that’s who they think would be interested in it. In fact the vat number and co number are optional at registration and they only thing ‘trade’ about it is a minimum £25 worth of checks purchased at registration. At the moment though you get 50 checks for this so paying only £0.50 instead of £2.99 for your first fifty checks and only £1 per check after that.

Of course reselling checks is against the terms and all your certificates will have the account holders details on so giving them away becomes awkward too but if you may check several phones in future (the credits never expire) it’s a good deal.

Declaration: I work for the parent company but this isn’t an advert, I just want to put right the misunderstanding about trade accounts. I’ll pass on the confusion and perhaps the web guys will modify the website.

We have some hard hitting facts for you, collated from our CheckMEND database.

Mobile Phone stats from CheckMEND

  • Of the £5bn Stolen goods for sale online, it is estimated that £2.6bn of that can be attributed to mobile phones
  • Of all the checks carried out on CheckMEND over the last 18 months 67% were made on mobile phones. Which equates to 6,700,000 checks made through CheckMEND, were to check the IMEI number of a mobile phone
  • Out of every town in the UK you are most likely to be sold a stolen mobile phone in Leicester

CheckMEND has identified 3,522 stolen handsets in the last 23 days, that’s 153 a day and from these checks, it indicates the place you are most likely to be offered a stolen phone in order of likelihood are:

Leicestershire

Greater London – Finsbury Park, North London –600 policemen arrested 70 people!

Birmingham

Manchester

Cambridge

The Nokia N95 is the most checked phone as it is the top end of the price range for second hand phones, so watch out n95 users…

Please remember to protect your mobile phone and register your belongings free with immobilise www.immobilise.com.

After registering your property stolen your information will be fed to our CheckMEND database and we can stop all e-fencing criminals from re-selling your property.

CheckMEND, CheckMEND USA, Crime, Mobile Phones

£5 billion stolen goods for sale online… watch out!

4 Comments

Today we released a report stating ‘£5 billion worth of stolen goods are on sale online over the internet at any one time in the UK’. Even more shocking, every minute two items are identified as being stolen

We know this because we are the UK’s online stolen property checking service that identifies over 1 million stolen items every year.
Our CheckMEND blog will aim to keep you updated and up to speed on any online shopping crime, crime prevention topics and stolen goods statistics. We shall let you know what’s going on in the world of ‘hot goods’ and any relevant breaking news…
About us-

So that we are clear from the start, here are a few notes about us:

  • CheckMEND is a brand from Recipero Limited www.recipero.com, a company founded by entrepreneur Adrian Portlock and two other non-executive directors that had it’s official launch in July 2006
  • CheckMEND searches the UK’s largest database of stolen goods and blocked mobile phones with nearly 30 million records which can be checked by a perspective purchaser prior to purchasing an item. We can refer to it as a super database, but NOT a government run ‘stupid’ database
  • Since it’s launch CheckMEND has carried out over 10 million checks online
  • The majority of UK Police forces use the CheckMEND data to check the legitimacy of property many thousands of times a week.
  • In the UK CheckMEND is already recommended by ebay for the checking of mobile phones before purchase

To find out more about what we do watch our video online http://www.checkmend.com

Why are there so many stolen goods online?
The problem is being exacerbated by “faceless” selling on the growing range of online auction and classified sites and the new phenomenon of “Market Places” on social networks, like Facebook, eBay and specific online mobile phone shopping sites.

Plus with the backdrop of the credit crunch impacting on family purses, UK consumers are increasingly on the lookout for a bargain or are clearing out their clutter to sell online or at the local car boot sale.

For any of you bargain hunters out there always check with CheckMEND if what you are about to buy is stolen or you could find yourselves in a pickle!

The Bigger Picture
Not only can you protect yourself from the hassle of purchasing stolen goods and from the risk of prosecution for handling them… if we reduce the opportunities for thieves to sell stolen property, then surely the demand will reduce as well. Only last week the Design Council released a study that found that one in eight children aged 11 to 16 has been the victim of a “hot product” theft, in the past three years

Plus, think about it if you are selling your laptop on eBay and can prove, with a free to view certificate, that what you’re selling is legit then people would be more likely to buy from you, rather than the next person who can prove the background of the laptop they’re selling!

Stewert Mitchell from the Times wrote an interesting feature which named online auctions as ‘Unscrupulous thieves who con innocent buyers’ but authorities seem powerless. We agree but with help of checkMEND authorities are becoming increasingly powerful with more arrest being made each year.

Warning – what we have found:

We have found that on average one in ten items of second hand goods checked through CheckMEND is being identified as being reported as stolen. Since its launch in 2006, CheckMEND has recently carried out 10 million checks on items valuing over £1 billion.

The value of the goods identified as being stolen is around £100 million.
Here are some fast facts we have for you:

  • There are over £1 billion worth of insurance claims made in the UK every year from items being stolen
  • There are over 30 million items of stolen property listed on CheckMEND from the UK with an estimated value of £3 billion
  • 10% of all items of second hand goods checked through CheckMEND is identified as having been reported stolen
  • Over 10 million checks have been made through CheckMEND over the last 18 months
  • Over 600,000 checks are now made through CheckMEND every month
  • The total value of items checked over the last 18 months is over £1 billion
  • The value of the stolen goods identified as stolen is over £100 million