Making it tougher to track and identify stolen mobile phones, the police in Uttar Pradesh has found there are more than 13,500 handsets in India running on the same unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). The Meerut police has registered a FIR against a mobile phone manufacturing company and its service centre after it was found that over 13,500 mobile phones in the country were running on the same IMEI.
The matter surfaced, after a police person gave his mobile phone to the staff at the cyber crime cell for examination, as the new phone was not working properly despite being repaired.
Meerut SP (City) Akhilesh N. Singh said that the cyber cell found that around 13,500 other mobile phones were also running on the same IMEI. He said the matter was a serious security issue. “Prima facie, it appears to be negligence on part of the mobile phone company and criminals can use it to their advantage,” Singh said. He said a case has been registered under relevant sections of the law and a team of experts has been called to look into the matter.
