Mobile 'Kill Switches' Cut Phone Thefts By Half

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Apple, Samsung and Google have all implemented techniques for owners to effectively render a phone useless if it is stolen.
As a result, smartphone thefts have fallen by half in London, 40% in San Francisco and 25% in New York City.

Views:

Amy Dwight 

I'm glad the manufacturers are doing this.

The phone networks themselves have had this capability for years (deny connection by IMEI) and never used it because, as a cynic might say, a disabled phone isn't generating any revenue for them so why would they disable them, stolen or not.

news.sky

Scotpak 

Why not enable a proper "kill switch" which remotely destroys all the phone's circuits thereby rendering it useless? Surely the phone manufacturers can do this. Such a switch will also prevent stolen phones from ever being resold.

theguardian

Stefano Polo

I can only imagine that it hasn't dropped more in NYC because these people who steal iPhones aren't aware of this feature (that is until they steal one after this was implemented)

idownloadblog