VietNamNet Bridge - The solution suggested by the HCMC People’s Committee to prevent the theft of mobile phones by locking stolen phones based on IMEI is not feasible.

The HCMC authorities have asked the Prime Minister to instruct the Ministry of Information and Communication to tell telcos under the management of the ministry to block the connection from stolen and illegally appropriated telco devices (such as smartphone and tablet) based on data (IMEI) provided by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

However, MPS believes that the solution cannot be applied because many phone products sourced from China have exactly the same IMEI numbers.

An official from the ministry said that there were many devices using mobile phone SIMs for internet connections to serve many different purposes. 

In principle, all the devices must have IMEI numbers, and IMEI must be unique, while IMEI numbers must not be he same.

However, in reality, many phone products from China have exactly the same IMEI numbers and one single IMEI can be used for tens of phone subscription numbers. 

The solution suggested by the HCMC People’s Committee to prevent the theft of mobile phones by locking stolen phones based on IMEI is not feasible.

As it is very easy to change IMEI numbers of smartphones, there would be many identical IMEI numbers on the same mobile networks. And this will make it impossible to block telecommunication devices’ connections.

The official also pointed out that many phone users won’t remember IMEI numbers of their telecom devices to report to the police in case their devices are stolen.

As such, he concluded, the solution suggested by the HCMC authorities could be effective only for some original devices from Europe and the US which have not had the IMEI numbers changed.

The solution was first mentioned at a press conference held by the HCMC Information and Communication Department in early April.

Le Quoc Cuong, deputy director of the department, said relevant agencies in HCMC were following necessary steps to implement the plan to block stolen devices based on IMEI numbers.

Major General Phan Anh Minh, deputy director of the HCMC Police, many times suggested the police will provide all the IMEI numbers of the stolen devices to the information & communication department, so that the department can request mobile network operators to break connection from the devices.

Minh affirmed that if the plan is implemented, the number of phone snatching cases in the city would be cut by 50 percent.

Affirming that the solution is ‘feasible’, Cuong said that his department discussed the solution with some big network operators. “The operators have shown their support to the solution. Meanwhile, the police are following necessary legal procedures to implement the plan,” Cuong said.

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