ATT, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless launched a database for stolen smartphones last year, and today the wireless industry says that database is complete. CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent announced that the database now allows carriers to block activation of LTE smartphones as well as 3G devices, hopefully deterring their theft, and has been integrated with international databases so foreign carriers can assist the effort. That point about international carriers is more important than you might think. Since foreign carriers werent included in the original effort, organized crime syndicates are literally fronting truckloads of cash to ship stolen smartphones overseas where they can be sold without fear.
Comments are closed.
