Tag Archives: iPhone

CheckMEND, Crime, Fraud, Immobilise, Mobile Phones, Recipero

Don’t get hung up with fraud this New Year and check for warning signs when buying a second hand phone

Mobile phone fraud prevention specialist, Recipero, part of the Callcredit Information Group, is urging consumers and retailers to undertake device checks when buying a second hand phone to avoid becoming a victim of fraud during the January sales and beyond.

Recipero’s CheckMEND data* reveals, that the number of device checks made on second hand iPhones has almost doubled in the last four years, highlighting the growth in the size of the second hand phone market and the increased awareness amongst some consumers and retailers of ensuring the legitimacy of second hand phones.

Last January there was a spike in the number of iPhone checks performed via the Recipero CheckMEND service. More than 1.3 million checks took place (more than 400,000 up on the month before) and Callcredit’s analysts are expecting upwards of two million at the start of 2018.

Mark Harman, Managing Director of Recipero, said: “Even though our findings highlight that there has been an increase in second hand iPhone device checks, fraud is prevalent in what is a market for increasingly expensive devices. Latest ONS crime figures, compiled from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, show 401,000 mobile phones were reported as stolen in the 12 month period ending March 2017. It’s important that consumers and retailers take the necessary precautions and check the history of a device.”

The Recipero data also revealed a surge in the number of searches on the CheckMEND database following the introduction of new iPhone models – as it shows the number of device checks being performed increasing by over a third (36.6%)** in the period after a new release.

Mark concluded: “A check on a second hand phone includes a device life history that starts at the point of manufacture, through ownership changes, right up to it being recycled. The device is checked against IMEI, a phone’s unique reference number, loss and theft reports and police crime reports in the US and UK, insurers title information and settled claims.
These checks provide information which will flag up (red) in a CheckMEND report if the device is compromised, helping to protect those purchasing a second hand phone from acquiring a lost or stolen device.”

*Based on CheckMEND UK data of number of checks made on iPhones each month from Jan 2014- Dec 2017 inclusive. Taken from the Recipero database which is part of the Callcredit Information Group.

**Based on the average number of CheckMEND iPhone device checks two months prior to a new iPhone launch and the average for the two months following.

Crime, Fraud, Immobilise, Lost Property, Mobile Phones, NMPR, Police, Recipero, Report My Loss

Festival season is upon us, so keep your valuables safe!

It’s that time of year to kick back and relax at a festival and listen to your favourite kind of music but have you thought about how to keep your valuables safe from loss or theft.

Festivals can be an absolute goldmine for thieves, although there is plenty of advice out there about what is in vogue to wear at festivals this year, there isn’t much advice about protecting your property.

Opportunists can present themselves at any time especially in large crowds so whether you are protecting your iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or HTC phone, or are worried about your wallet and camera there are a few things that you can do to keep your valuables safe.

  1. Firstly, you need to register any valuables on Immobilise, the national property register which is linked to the police database (NMPR) where if any property is found the police can run a search and return it to the rightful owner. It is a must do for gadgets such as your mobile phone, which you will want to take with you to a festival. You can register any property on Immobilise, so get registering!
  2. Try not to bring too many valuables in the first place, but if you do don’t leave anything unattended or in tent. Sometimes there may be free locker areas if you do have something you want to lock away.
  3. Keep valuables in the bottom of your sleeping bag at night.
  4. Only take as much cash as you think you will need and try separate cash from cards.
  5. Don’t put phones and wallets in your back pocket.
  6. Report any suspicious behaviour or crime to police immediately.

Stay safe this festival season and have a great time doing it!

CheckMEND, Crime, eBay, Fraud, Immobilise, Lost Property, Mobile Phones, NMPR, Police, Recipero

Beware of the Mobile Phone Moped Muggers!

Thieves who steal mobile phones straight out of people’s hands as they zoom by on their, often stolen, mopeds are becoming an increasing problem for the public and police.

It’s completely shocking to the person being attacked. Martin Lewis, the money saving expert, who was one of the latest victims can confirm this from his recent attack near Oxford Circus. He tweets about his incident: ‘About 40 minutes ago two men on a moped just rode up on the pavement and snatched my mobile out of my hands. The speed and accuracy was frightening.’ To read more on this attack click here.

Scotland Yard claims that moped muggers are snatching 20 phones an hour and that thieves mainly go for iPhones. If the phone is still switched on then they reset it and sell it on, if not then they will trade it for parts.

If the owner has been astute enough to register their phone on immobilise.com, the National Property Register, they would immediately be able to change the status of the device flagging it as stolen to traders, as well as report it to the Police*. UK Police officers are the ONLY people with authorisation to access the Immobilise database to check the status and ownership of a mobile phone and repatriate it if it is recovered. The Metropolitan Police advise mobile users to activate their phone’s security features when they receive it and to register valuable possessions with immobilise.com for free, pre-loss or theft.

In this increasingly common crime the phone’s owner is often not the only victim. If you are buying a second hand mobile phone, whether that be an iPhone, Samsung, HTC or any other smartphone, then CheckMEND can help you avoid stolen property. An online check costs as little as £1 and will highlight if a phone is blocked, stolen or compromised in someway.  CheckMEND is the most comprehensive device check available helping consumers, traders, recyclers and retailers buy and sell second-hand goods with confidence.

The moral, however of this post is not to give thieves opportunities to steal your possessions or profit from your loss. Try to avoid using your smart phone in public, be cautious, and to be on the safe side always register new phones or mobile devices on immobilise.com.

* Flagging an item as stolen on Immobilise means that information is immediately available to the Police when they conduct searches for it on the Police only NMPR system. In the event of a crime, a report should also be made directly to Police so they are able to investigate it appropriately and request additional details when relevant.

CheckMEND, Crime, eBay, Fraud, Immobilise, Mobile Phones

How to buy and sell phones and mobile devices online safely

Online shopping has rapidly become the easiest way to buy goods. With only a click of a button or tap of a screen between us and our next purchase, it’s no wonder that 95% of British people buy goods via the internet. According to The Daily Mail, 1 in 4 British people now shop online at least once a week, although this way of shopping is more convenient it does increase our exposure to fraudulent activity.

By this, I mean that although you may feel ‘safe as houses’, sitting at home on your laptop browsing your favourite sites, you can’t be quite as confident that what your buying is completely legitimate. There are more and more scams to be aware of and avoid especially when buying or selling any mobile devices in the second-hand market.

Many great bargains can be found in online auction and classified ad sites, and in turn you can, as a seller, make some money on the items you no longer need. It’s true what they say ‘one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure‘.  However without knowing the seller is reputable, it is very hard to be confident that a device is genuine or compromised. One well established way to put your mind at rest is to purchase a CheckMEND report.

A CheckMEND mobile device check costs as little as £0.99p per device and can help inform your buying decision by reporting on a devices current status and history including if it is blocked, marked as lost or stolen, plus many other important data checks. It’s like getting a clean bill of health when your device comes back clear, a green flag to proceed!

If you are selling an item, it is a great idea to sell it with a CheckMEND history report to build trust with your customers, achieving faster sales and higher prices in the process.

Trade with confidence when buying or selling second-hand goods, run a CheckMEND device check now.

Bicycles, Crime, Immobilise, ImmobiTag, Lost Property, Mobile Phones, Police, Students

Back to school… With £3.2 billion worth of tech

Schoolimage1When the school gates opened for the new term, its estimated that under 16s’ bags contained over £3.2 billion worth of tech – a staggering average in excess of £270 per school bag*. Such high values intensify issues associated with loss and theft requiring students to be ever more cautious.

To stay safe and secure we recommend …

  • Students shouldn’t leave their smartphones, cameras, iPods and tablets unattended, and when not in use they should be kept secure in a locked bag or locker.
  • Don’t show off expensive devices, especially in public spaces. Children and young teenagers make easy targets for unscrupulous thieves.
  • Ensure gadgets are registered on Immobilise,  recording the make, model,  and any serial codes but most importantly for smartphones the IMEI number – for mobiles just key in *#06#  on the handset to display the IMEI.
  • Bicycles should be kept in the school’s designated areas and secured with a D-lock to an immovable object such as ground mounted loop. Don’t forget to register the bike on Immobilise and consider enhancing the registration with an ImmobiTag RFID tag.

* Statistics sourced from USwitch Survey: USwitch

This post is an extract from our regular email updates that contain other crime prevention tips and topical news along side special offers and discounts on items in our Immobilise property marking and security products. (Go to: https://shop.immobilise.com/)

To subscribe please update the preferences in your Immobilise account: https://www.immobilise.com/login 

Crime, Lost Property, Mobile Phones, Police, Recipero

Recipero’s 2014 Mobile Device Crime Facts and Figures

2014 was a busy year for Recipero with our customers checking over $4 Billion worth of devices using our solutions. 

We have pulled a few more more facts and figures from our Crime Reduction Ecosystem that are summarised in the attached infographic “2014 Mobile Device Crime Facts and Figures”.

To learn more about Recipero’s Crime Reduction Ecosystem and our solutions that contribute to it, please visit our main website at www.recipero.com. 

Recipero 2014 Mobile Device Crime Facts and Figures

CheckMEND, CheckMEND USA, Crime, eBay, Mobile Phones, Police, Recipero

Gazelle – Leading USA consumer electronics reseller deploys CheckMEND to help identify fraud

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Gazelle, one of the USA’s leading high-end consumer trade-in sites, today announced it has deployed CheckMEND, a cutting-edge tool, designed to more accurately detect potentially stolen goods, including smart phones, tablets and computers.

Developed by Recipero, CheckMEND is the largest World’s largest consumer electronics background report service, the system compiles data from all major wireless carriers and law enforcement entities across the USA, providing the most complete database of devices available. Gazelle is the first consumer electronics trade-in site to deploy CheckMEND and collaborated with Recipero to tailor the product to help address the growing incidences of consumer electronics theft.

For Gazelle the introduction of CheckMEND comes at a good time with the proliferation of high-end consumer electronics theft. In fact, New York City’s police commissioner recently reported that Apple products now represent more than 40 percent of stolen property in the city and San Francisco police report that nearly half of all robberies in the city in the past year have been cell phone related.

We are dedicated to providing the best customer experience possible, and part of that promise is to protect each customer’s personal data

said Israel Ganot, CEO, Gazelle.

We always take security very seriously. With the CheckMEND deployment, we’re taking this to a new level, committing not only to the protection of a customer’s personal data when we receive the device, but also going the extra mile to ensure that any devices we accept are being sold by the rightful owner and to discourage and prevent theft of consumer electronics.

Recipero’s CheckMEND service makes it possible to do a more thorough screening by checking a vast set of carrier and law enforcement sources for a much broader set of consumer electronics. CheckMEND is capable of comparing each inquiry against more than 150 billion records of information, including more than 50 billion items.

For more information please visit the following websites.

Visit Gazelle: www.gazelle.com

Visit CheckMEND: www.checkmend.com

Visit Recipero: www.recipero.com

 

Immobilise, NMPR, Police

Leicestershire Police Immobilise Registration Event

Leicestershire Police are holding a special Immobilise Property Registration event on Monday 26th November.

The event is being run by officers and local volunteers in Oadby where shoppers are going to be encouraged to sign up to the Immobilise National Property Register.

Police Community Support Volunteers will be in the Foyer at Asda, Oadby on Monday November 26, 2012 between 10am and 4pm encouraging people to sign up to the free Immobilise Project.

They will be using the latest state of the art technology – called Hermes – to sign people up to the scheme. The Hermes scanner is a hand held device which can be used to accurately and quickly register property onto Immobilise. It is a very quick and simple process which is also very secure. Shoppers will receive an email to say they have registered with the scheme when they get home and they can then add more property.

The main aim of the project is to encourage residents to register their property on the UK National Property Register, Immobilise, which is supported by all UK police forces.

It takes less than five minutes to create an account and register one item – usually a mobile phone. Other items that can be registered include, laptops,i-pads, i-pods, games consoles, photographic equipment, sat-navs, cycles etc. You can also upload photographs of items such as jewellery, antiques etc which don’t have a serial number.

All you need to do is provide a few details including an email address. The system is completely secure and can only be accessed by the registered user.

Members of the public can log on to www.immobilise.com to register the serial numbers of expensive electronic items which will assist the police in tracing property in the event it is stolen.

Sgt 961 Andy Sibson said;

Immobilise is a great way of registering your property. It’s free, easy to use and secure. I would encourage everyone with computer access to use it.

To read the source article please go to: http://www.leics.police.uk/

Bicycles, Immobilise, Lost Property, Mobile Phones, Police, Report My Loss, Students

Police teach students how to deter thieves

Avon & Somerset Police are offering students advice on how to deter thieves this week as part of Operation Relentless, keeping you safe.

On Sunday September 16 2012 3,000 students arriving at the University of the West of England were given advice on keeping themselves and their property safe by university-based PC Matt Holloway.

For the rest of the week, PC Holloway will be giving students the chance to register their laptops, phones, bikes and other valuables on www.immobilise.com as part of Relentless, keeping you safe.

Neighbourhood Inspector Bob Evely said:

Registering your property for free on the immobilise website, along with marking it with your postcode, is known to deter thieves. They know that we will be able to prove the item has been stolen and identify the rightful owner. UWE students wanting help with registering their property can contact PC Holloway at the police post at the university. Of course nothing beats making sure you lock your doors and windows and never leaving your laptop or other valuables on display in your car.

Avon & Somerset Police also recommend installing security software on phones and computers which can help trace your property if it is stolen. For more security advice visit their website, www.avonandsomerset.police.uk

 

Bicycles, Crime, Immobilise, Mobile Phones, NMPR, Police, Report My Loss

‘Lock it or lose it’ warn Harrogate police

Harrogate police are urging residents to ‘lock it or lose it’ after a recent increase in the number of burglaries and car break-ins.

Officers believe that the rise can be combated with the help of the community who can help reduce further offences by taking preventative security measures.

Although the district has enjoyed falling figures in crimes such as robbery, sexual offences and thefts from outbuildings, burglary and theft from vehicles remains an issue which officers are keen to stamp out.

Sergeant Geoff Crocker, of Harrogate Safer Neighbourhood Team, said:

Harrogate is one of the safest towns in the safest county in the country, however some people’s complacency over crime prevention is making life easy for criminals.

We have to act now to ensure that offenders don’t have it their own way. Make life difficult for them, most thieves are opportunistic – if they see an unsecured door or window they will be in.

What they don’t like is a challenge, it is vital that people take the proper security measures to ensure that their houses or cars are as difficult as possible to get into.

Over half of burglaries occur at properties that have been left insecure and these offences could have easily been prevented by closing windows and locking doors.

Sgt Crocker also pointed out that burglaries where offenders force entry to a property are almost exclusively committed at homes which don’t have burglar alarms fitted. He added:

While investigating a recent burglary, I noticed that the offenders had climbed over several garden fences of neighbouring properties to get to the house. All the surrounding properties had burglar alarms, the house that was burgled did not.

Laptops, jewellery and car keys were stolen from the house and Sgt Crocker is urging residents to consider the loss of possessions and inconvenience against the cost of having adequate security measures installed.

Thefts from unattended vehicles have also gone up in Harrogate, mainly because many people are still leaving their cars unlocked.

Laptops, iPhones, Blackberrys and wallets have all been stolen from insecure vehicles recently, in thefts that could have been easily prevented by locking the door and removing valuable items from view. Sgt Crocker said:

The lack of security awareness shown by some motorists is staggering, the vast majority of thefts from vehicles have come as a result of the car being left unlocked.

Thieves are simply walking along the road or up driveways looking for vehicles that have been left insecure.

We really need to get the message across: lock your car, remove all valuable property and leave nothing on view.

Police are urging the residents of Harrogate to work with them to make life tough for criminals and help reduce the number of burglaries and thefts occurring in the town.

Local Safer Neighbourhood officers are always happy to give crime prevention advice and everyone can do their bit to ensure their homes and cars are secure.

Sgt Crocker added:

We need to ensure firstly that thieves aren’t getting an easy steal and secondly that they have an increased risk of getting caught.

The first part of this has to come from the community by observing basic security procedures including using locks that they already have.

The second part is down to the police, to relentlessly pursue criminals, put them before the courts and continue to reduce crime in Harrogate District.

Sgt Crocker has offered his top 10 crime prevention tips to residents wishing to guard against burglary and theft:

  • Remove all valuables from your vehicle and ensure it is locked.
  • Keep keys in a safe place, out of reach of doors and windows.
  • Get a burglar alarm fitted preferably from a SSAIB or NSI approved company.
  • Part set your alarm before going to bed.
  • Photograph expensive jewellery, mark it with Smartwater and keep it in a safe.
  • Photograph and mark expensive antiques and pictures.
  • Create an immobilise account at www.immobilise.com and record your possessions on the database.
  • Join your local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
  • Check your door lock. If it does not show kite mark BS3621, contact the police, a locksmith or your NHW coordinator.
  • If you see something suspicious report it

To visit North Yorkshire Police’s Website go to: http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/index.aspx?articleid=6736