Miscellaneous -
Mobile Phones
Advertising watchdogs
criticised Virgin Mobile for making
"unfair" comparisons between its call
charges and those of a rival. The Advertising
Standards Authority said leaflets urging Orange
customers to switch networks had also been
misleading. Virgin was asked to support claims it
made in leaflets aimed at Orange users. It had
claimed Orange's pre-pay customers would be
"surprised" at how much they might save
by switching to Virgin. The ASA ruled that an
accompanying price comparison sheet was not
comparing like with like as the Orange charges
applied to those paid by users on monthly line
rental tariffs.
Orange also complained that its rival had failed
to point out that all Virgin users are required
to pay a one-off administration charge of £15
when signing up for the first time. The ASA
upheld three complaints, ruling that Virgin
should consult with the Committee of Advertising
Practice Copy Advice before advertising again. A
spokesman for Virgin said, "It is
unfortunate the ASA has found in Orange's favour.
All of the claims we make in our adverts are
based on things which are true."
Thefts
of mobile phones in England and Wales have
surged, with new research suggesting more than
700,000 were snatched last year. The study
published by the Home Office estimates the
overall number of stolen mobiles is more than
double the 330,000 figure officially recorded by
police. Schoolchildren, often targeted by other
youths, are at least five times more likely to be
targeted by mobile phone thieves than adults,
with 48% of victims aged under 18. With a mobile
phone stolen approximately every three minutes,
the government says the industry could be doing
more to reverse the figures.
Not only are overall robbery rates up 13%, but
the proportion of those involving mobiles has
soared from 8% three years ago to 28% last year,
says the survey. The total number of phone
robberies is thought to have risen almost
threefold in five years, but mobile phone
ownership is also rising rapidly. Chairman of the
Youth Justice Board, Lord Warner, said the
figures indicated an "extremely worrying
phenomenon" of large numbers of young people
committing crimes on their peers. He said both
parents and schools needed to question the wisdom
of allowing pupils take such valuable items to
school.
The Mobile Telephones (Reprogramming) Act makes
it illegal to alter the unique code carried by
each handset, known as the IMEI number and the
legislation is designed to make it more difficult
for mobile phone thieves to sell on stolen
handsets. Network operators can bar each phone
from the airwaves once the IMEI number has been
reported to them, but reprogramming the phone
means it can still be used. The law now makes it
illegal to possess the reprogramming equipment,
or to supply the equipment to someone else and
the new offence also carries an unlimited fine on
conviction.
A new joint database has been launched, aimed at
drastically cutting back mobile phone theft. The
UK's five mobile phone operators have set up the
database so that when one handset is stolen it
cannot be used on any of the networks. The firms
have come under pressure from the government and
police following a surge in mobile phone thefts
in the last few years. An average of 900,000
phones are stolen a year in the UK - around one
in four robberies. Mobile companies continue to
work on technology aimed at making it impossible
for the professional thief to reprogramme stolen
handsets. The new database follows a government
pledge to give mobile phone thieves tough jail
sentences, following a surge in street crime.
A
new crime to prevent mobile phones from being
doctored is to be introduced under the
government's forthcoming Violent Crime Bill. The
Home Office says the new law will make it easier
to arrest people for reprogramming stolen mobiles
so they can be used again. The measures are aimed
at reducing the numbers of street robberies and
mobile phone thefts. Under the Mobile Telephones
(Reprogramming) Act 2002, it is illegal to
reprogramme a phone, or use equipment to
reprogramme with the intention to do so.
Reprogramming a mobile is changing its unique
14-17 digit serial number, the IMEI
(International Mobile Equipment Identity). This
is blocked from the owner's network and any other
network when it is reported stolen, rendering it
useless.
However, equipment is available on the internet
which can reprogramme the phone's IMEI number.
The Violent Crime Bill will make it illegal to
offer or agree to reprogramme a phone, rather
than the act of doing it. The new law will be
similar to those preventing ticket touts offering
tickets for resale. A Home Office spokeswoman
said, "We want to tighten up the legislation
on it to try to prevent the doctoring of stolen
mobiles." Jack Wraith, of the Mobile
Industry Crime Action Forum, said his
organisation had found no evidence to suggest
that blocking of the new generation of mobile
phones had recently been compromised. He said
about two-thirds of phones in use were old
generation and were still vulnerable to being
doctored.
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