Gardaí warn smartphone users against thefts

Smartphones (credit: Orla Stafford)

Smartphone owners are being advised by the Garda to become more cautious when it comes to using their phone in public after a soar in phone thefts.

Statistics from An Garda Síochána showed that nearly eight thousand smart phones were reported stolen in the first six months of 2012.

Approximately one thousand phones were stolen in inner city Dublin in the first three months of 2013.

On 8 April, the Dublin City Joint Committee launched a leaflet addressing the problem of thefts of smart phones in Dublin city.

Chairman of the committee Gerry Breen commented, “The theft often happens in broad daylight, when people are walking along the street using a smart phone.”

Garda have appealed to people to keep account of their phone’s identifying number, referred to as the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMFE) number.

This number can be sought by dialling *#06# on the phone’s keypad. In the event of a phone being stolen, this number will allow the phone to be disabled by the phone owner’s operator.

A Garda operation project entitled Operation Aughrim has got underway in Dublin and is aimed at preventing and detecting mobile phone related offences. It also hopes to be able to return stolen phones back to their original owners.

Chief Superintendent Michael O’Sullivan of Pearse Street Garda Station stressed the need for “personal safety when using your mobile phone in public”, and of “recording your IMEI number and alerting your service provider to block the handset if lost or stolen.”