MUMBAI: Four men were arrested for snatching mobile phones and changing their IMEI numbers to evade arrest. The IMEI number is unique 15-digit code that is used to identify valid mobile phones. The Department of Telecommunications is planning to make IMEI tampering a punishable offence with up to three years imprisonment.
The IMEI number helps the police stop a stolen phone from accessing mobile networks and subsequently track the stolen phone. The gang busted by the Vikhroli Parksite police would snatch phones and modify the IMEI numbers to dodge the police.
The police seized 48 stolen phones worth R 2.5 lakh from them. The police said the gang’s activities came to light recently, after two on a motorcycle were caught after they snatched a mobile phone from a pedestrian in Ghatkopar. The police are looking for two more men, part of the gang.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-four-of-gang-who-snatched-phones-held/articleshow/77830664.cms
