With government figures showing that 75% of all adults, and
almost 90% of people between 15 and 34, own or use a mobile phone,
there are, inevitably, a huge number of phones in the UK that are
lost or stolen each day – over 2,000 phones and other mobile IT
devices, according to MEND.
But the majority of these devices are never returned to their
owners simply because, even if found, there is no way of knowing to
whom they actually belong. Traditional advice – that of marking the
instrument with a UV pen – is often beaten by thieves using UV pens
to scribble over the mark.
The solution, according to Recipero, the company that runs MEND,
is to register with the free database, which has been endorsed by
the police and the mobile phone industry, so that recovery agencies
can easily access the ownership details and identify the phone or
other device through its equipment number.
Thames Valley Police, South Yorkshire, Merseyside and Nottingham
Police have all signed up to the system.
