UK mobiles not worth stealing

And?

What was the point of making IMEI changing illegal? So it's now illegal to change the IMEI on a stolen mobile. When was that ever legal?

However, just because it won't work doesn't mean that the thief is not going to be able to sell it. After all, if you bought a stolen mobile in the pub and it didn't work, are you that likely to take it back and complain? No, didn't think so.

As a result, there is still a profit in it for the thieves most of whom are probably too dumb to know that it'll stop working in a couple of days so it would never stop then thieving. Most thieves are not distinguished by outstanding academic achievements.

Don't want a phone

The assumption is that those stealing a phone want the phone as a phone. Often what they want is the other information that people keep on their phones these days. People use their phones as PDA's keeping all kinds of information that is more valuable to a thief than the phone. Especially since most people don't apply any kind of password protection because its to much of a hassle to have to enter the password in every time you want to do something.

Cigarettes.

Most cellphones aren't stolen because the thief wants the phone. Most get stolen because the thief wants the money/cigarettes/lighter/drugs/whatever that are in a bag that also contains the phone, and it's easiest just to take the bag.

If instead the thief is going through your pockets with one hand while holding a knife under your nose with the other (actually most thieves aren't that dextrous, they generally leave one of these to an accomplice), they will generally take your phone just to prevent you from using it to dial 999/911/112.

'Met Police study showed that a lot of "stolen" phones were insurance fiddles to get an upgrade' -- I suggest what this study really shows is that there *isn't a problem* in the UK with street robberies and the police *do respond* to 999 calls, in spite of what I happen to believe because of my experiences. So who did the Met survey then -- themselves?

As if the kids will care

A lot of phones are stolen off of teenagers by other teenagers. They couldn't give a toss if it becomes locked in 6 hrs, let alone 48. They just make a load of calls, use up the available credit and then chuck the phones away, and pick on their next victim.

What's the point?

Pretty much everyone who wants a mobile phone already has one. Obviously you will get some stolen to be sold abroad, some stolen because they're in someone's handbag, and some pinched from kids by other kids. However the market for dodgy phones has collapsed. You can buy a basic pay & go phone with £10 airtime for less than £20 (the Motorola F3 Blue, as recommended at http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/29/review_motorola_motofone_f3/). This is new, comes from a shop and has a warranty (and obviously isn't stolen).

The same happened with knocked off computer memory. When SIMMs cost £30 or more per MB (just before Windows 95 was released) there was quite a lot of money to be made with corporate machines having up to 64 MB. However the collapse in price meant that it just wasn't worth it any more. You can now buy a 1 GB DIMM for less than £20, which is equivalent to 1 MB costing less than 2p.

Sometimes it's just basic economics that cuts crime, not yet another initiative from the Home Office.

Re: Insurance jobbies

So you admit you may have inadvertently, unknowingly committed insurance fraud? That's like the other day when I accidentally and through no fault of my own pirated a whole bunch of music then absent-mindedly and without intent smoked a joint while I listened to it. :)