Buttsack

Is there a system to find out what phone number/sim has used my phone? I asked optus this and they said all they can do is block my IMEI. But AFAIK when you put a sim in a phone it registers the sim and the IMEI number of the phone to the network, so I should be able to see what phone number is using my phone and track them down myself. I understand there would be privacy issues but if it is stolen then maybe the police could get involved.

intelliGEORGE

Telcos can track imei's. There is no doubt on this. Part of the normal information that a handset sends to the network regularly is its imei. Obviously each network can only track an imei that is on it's own network. For a telco to give the police (or anyone else) the details of the user whose sim is in the handset, they would require a warrant. Most police will not even bother.

Most carriers in Oz now block stolen imei's and have cooperation agreements in place, so that the imei's can be blocked across all participating networks. However, this isn't to say that correct normal procedures are in place at the "front lines" to make use of this facility.

Generally, telco's don't care if your phone is stolen. In fact, they prefer it if you can't get it back because you are likely locked into a contract of sorts. If not a service contract then a contract to at least pay for the handset (that was stolen). Most people will just fork out the dough for a new handset (more $$$ for the telco).

Joey

This Site that Cwispy posted last week has a lot of useful info
AMTA - Mind Your Mobile

Buttsack

Thanks guys it really does suck that they won't help me even though it will stop criminals. IMO if they tracked the person who ended up with the stolen phone they would pretty much stop people stealing phone more than they would by blocking the IMEI on the phone because people wouldn't buy the phone if they thought they would get caught with stolen goods.

tytower

I think you are dead right .

Write to your local MP and keep writing!

tytower

Also I have been looking at the real data transmitted with each phone call and it seems the IMEI is sent in the handshake phase but not recorded in the call phase . Timers start from the handshake phase to the hangup so they don't miss out.

punjabiz

i know someone that works in a telco company. he is an engineer...
they use a method called tri-semething... tri tower maybe... it finds the signal strength from three towers and calculates the location of the phone...

maybe same as how google maps finds your location by pressing 0...
here is what google maps say:

"The My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near you to approximate your current location on the map - it's not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average). We're still in beta, but we're excited to launch this feature and are constantly working to improve our coverage and accuracy."

but obviously the method used by telcos is a lotttttttttt better than this in terms of accuracy... they usually use it to help police locate some special persons...

Don Benosee

Triangulation.