Check Before You Buy a Second Hand Mobile
The New Zealand Telecommunications Forum (TCF) has today launched an online service that allows mobile phone users to
check whether a handset has been blocked from use on New Zealand networks before they buy, saving innocent purchaser’s
time and money.
In December 2013, the TCF, along with its members Vodafone, Telecom and 2degrees, worked to develop a national mobile
handset blacklisting system, which gives each network carrier the ability to block the IMEI number (unique
identification code) of a mobile device that has been reported as stolen across all three networks.
Today’s launch of the online IMEI checking service completes the last part of this project. The service allows users to
quickly and easily check whether a mobile phone has been blocked from use.
Chief Executive of the TCF David Stone said that introduction of the online checking tool for consumers, is an important
step in reducing mobile phone theft.
“Mobile Handset Blacklisting was introduced to help reduce mobile phone theft by blocking lost and stolen devices
nationwide so that phones become virtually worthless and therefore less enticing targets for thieves.” said Mr Stone.
“Now that users can check the status of a device before they purchase it, we hope to further combat the problem of
handset theft.”
The service is free and it only takes a few seconds to learn whether that dream phone is actually a useless brick.
However the tool is not infallible. The IMEI check only provides details of those phones reported and blocked at the
time of the inquiry, so it cannot identify a device that has not has not yet been reported as lost or stolen. Users have
up to 30 days to report a lost or stolen handset. For this reason, Mr Stone warned that people should always be careful
about purchasing mobile phones or other mobile devices from sources other than registered dealers. “If you’re in the
market for a second hand phone ask the seller for the IMEI number, input this into the webpage and if the results show
the phone has been reported lost or stolen, then stay clear. You should always use common sense though - if a deal looks
too good to be true, it usually is.”
The IMEI checking service can be used by New Zealand based users up to three times per day. The IMEI check can be
located at http://www.tcf.org.nz/imeicheck.
Ends