{"id":79163,"date":"2014-09-17T18:49:08","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T13:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.quickheal.com\/?p=79163"},"modified":"2024-03-12T11:17:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T05:47:56","slug":"mythbuster-imei-blocking-cannot-protect-your-lost-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/mythbuster-imei-blocking-cannot-protect-your-lost-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"Mythbuster: IMEI Blocking cannot Protect your Lost Phone"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a precautionary issue for our readers and subscribers.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

From multiple sources, online and offline, we recently came to know about a common illegal trend that is afoot in several cities in India and is gaining momentum with time. Here\u2019s a recap of a news related to this trend:<\/p>\n

A software engineer was apprehended by Mumbai police officials for changing the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of mobile handsets. The accused is known to run a mobile store, and to have performed similar modifications on several handsets before he was caught red-handed by the police. He was charged under various sections of Information Technology Act. Changing or tampering with the IMEI number of a device is considered unlawful. You can read more about this news here<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMEI<\/a><\/center>
\nNow, Why Are We Informing Our Readers About This?<\/span><\/p>\n

The IMEI number is a unique number assigned to your phone by its manufacturer. This number is used by GSM networks to identify your device.<\/p>\n

Why is IMEI Number Important?<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/strong> When a mobile device is lost or stolen, its IMEI number can be blacklisted by the service provider to prevent the device from connecting to any network. [The deployment of this service depends on the operator’s discretion, and its availability in the country of residence<\/em>]<\/p>\n

–<\/strong> The IMEI number might come in handy for the police to trace lost or stolen phones to their original owners.<\/p>\n

–<\/strong> Discourages sale of lost or stolen phones as legal secondhand devices.<\/p>\n

But IMEI Number can be Changed by Easily Available Equipment
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Blocking the IMEI number of a stolen device won\u2019t help if the number itself gets changed after theft.<\/p>\n

So, in a scenario like this, IMEI blocking is of no help in protecting lost or stolen mobile devices from being misused or resold as second hand equipment. A better alternative would be a mobile tracker that can show the device\u2019s location on a map. An added advantage would be a feature that can allow users to remotely lock their phone and protect its files and other information from being misused.<\/p>\n

Quick Heal Mobile Security products have been designed keeping in mind the risk of mobile theft and loss. Its anti-theft technology lets you:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Remotely lock your phone
\n2.<\/strong> Remotely erase its data
\n3.<\/strong> Track its location on a map
\n4.<\/strong> Capture audio and video of the phone\u2019s surrounding area
\n5.<\/strong> Receive notifications if the SIM of the lost phone is changed<\/p>\n

Learn more about the above features that can help protect your phone.<\/a><\/p>\n

To conclude, there are many websites that claim to track lost devices through their IMEI numbers. IMEI locking is a procedure that involves the law and enforcement and cannot be carried out merely with the help of the Internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is a precautionary issue for our readers and subscribers. From multiple sources, online and offline, we recently came to know about a common illegal trend that is afoot in several cities in India and is gaining momentum with time. Here\u2019s a recap of a news related to this trend: A software engineer was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":79171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158,354,60,6],"tags":[1042,1043,1044,1045],"class_list":["post-79163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-location-tracking","category-mobile-security-2","category-smartphone","category-tips","tag-imei","tag-imei-blocking","tag-imei-chaning","tag-imei-number"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79163"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79163"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92378,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79163\/revisions\/92378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickheal.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}