For the past ten years, pickpockets and dealers of stolen phones have been actively operating in Russia. Every day in Moscow, five or six people turn to law enforcement agencies for help - but this is only official statistics. It is useful for cell phone owners to know that within one to one and a half months they have every chance of recovering a stolen mobile phone.
Have your phone stolen? Do not panic
Law enforcement officials have been sounding the alarm for a long time: theft of mobile phones is becoming an epidemic. In the shadow market, they can be sold to anyone. Implementation is carried out at almost any metro station, train station, bazaar. In addition, any pawnshop accepts mobile phones as collateral, along with jewelry. All this makes phones a tasty catch for any pickpocket.
The robbers do not always make an attack in order to take away the gadget from the victim: most often the theft is done quietly, completely unnoticed either by the owner or by others. A typical example is pickpockets operating at rush hour. It costs them nothing to carefully fish out a poorly hidden mobile from someone's pocket, a badly closed bag or a backpack hanging behind their backs.
Having discovered the loss, first of all, you must make sure that the phone was stolen - perhaps you yourself lost it or left it somewhere? Having clarified the situation, you can proceed to decisive action.
Step by step actions
First, call your mobile operator and ask to block the SIM card. It is also recommended to request details of the invoice: this way you will find out if they called from your phone, and if so, to which number. This is extremely valuable information for catching a criminal. Then go to the police and write a statement about the theft. Only the police have full authority to request information on the location of stolen items.
Please note: as a last resort, you can even contact the fire department, traffic police post or the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Your application must be considered everywhere. Be sure to take the phone box with you, as it contains the international mobile equipment identifier - also known as IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). This is a fifteen-digit number by which you can determine the location of the phone.
If you've seen a pickpocket in the face, or at least suspect someone, testify. Describe the perpetrator's appearance in detail, paying attention to the little things: tattoos, piercings, accessories, unusual features, scars, etc.
If your SIM card was used, then the search for a pickpocket will take the police only a few hours. It is enough to call the necessary numbers, make requests for all incoming and outgoing calls - and the trick is in the bag. If the thief threw away the SIM card and went to sell the phone, then the search process will be more laborious. However, resellers need to check the working capacity of mobile phones, so sooner or later your gadget will still "light up" in the GSM space.
