A person commits an offence if he re-programs a mobile phone,
unless he is the maker of the phone or has the written consent of
the maker according to a new law which was passed in the UK on 24th
July 2002. The law aims to reduce the trade in stolen phones and is
being supported by an industry-led plan to create a database of
stolen phone details.
The Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act of 2002 will not come
into force until an order is made by the Secretary of State. It
refers to changing interfering with the operation of a “unique
device identifier” (known as an IMEI number) in a “mobile wireless
communications device.” The maximum sentence under the Act is a
five year prison term and a fine.
An offence will also be committed if it can be proved that an
individual is in possession of equipment for reprogramming a phone
with the intent of using the equipment for that purpose or, if
supplying or offering to supply such equipment, he does so with the
knowledge or belief that it will be used for that purpose.
Computer Weekly yesterday reported that the UK’s network
operators are creating a shared database to enable the blocking of
stolen mobile phones. The database, expected to be set up by the
end of September, will bar phones across all networks by referring
to their IMEI number.
