HOUSTON –Millions of cell phones are stolen or lost every year in this country. Crooks have made a big business by using legitimate technology to jumpstart hot cell phones.
A small but popular cell phone store sits on the corner of Laura Koppe and Lockwood in northeast Houston. Its previous owner sold the shop about two years ago, after narrowly surviving a shooting during a robbery. The new owner, Javed Iqbal, ended up shooting and killing a would-be robber in August.
He has since raised all his showcases and built them into a protective wall between him and the customers. Behind the counter, Iqbal towers over his customers.
"They are on the height of 5 feet 10 inches," he said.
Theft is a constant problem. A new Verizon store was only open for four days in Meyerland and was burglarized twice. The latest smash-and-grab was Monday, October 26th. The total merchandise lost was about $33,000.
Verizon, like other carriers, simply deactivates stolen phones from its network. So, if you buy a cell phone on eBay or on the street, you could be in trouble.
"You’re taking a chance at throwing your money away with a fraudulent phone that’s not able to be activated and you can’t even make a call," Verizon spokeswoman Gretchen Lejeune said.
That’s true if you go an authorized dealer.
"You can turn the phone off on Sprint and Verizon networks but not on the Cricket network. You can flash those phones to Cricket and use it on Cricket," Iqbar said.
YouTube even posts "How To" videos for flashing phones or switching them from Verizon or Sprint to Cricket. Cricket is a cheaper provider that doesn’t require a contract. Flashing can also be done at a Cricket store.
Is all that tempting enough for an employee to turn into a thief? Twenty-one-year-old Boone Bergfeld sits in the Harris County Jail, accused of stealing 79 cell phones from a Sprint store in the 8000 block of the Gulf Freeway. Their total value was $25,000.
Literally one block up the street from the Sprint store are a host of cell phone shops, including a Cricket store.
"We don’t necessarily encourage flashing, but it’s (the storefronts are) a third- party business and beyond our rules," Cricket spokeswoman Courtney Prato said.
Flashing applies to Verizon and Sprint phones that don’t use SIM cards. Phones with SIM cards are AT&T, T-Mobile and Nextel.
A SIM card costs $20, and you can buy a monthly calling plan with just the SIM card. Any phone that takes a SIM card, such as a high-end Blackberry or iPhone, can have that SIM card replaced with a new one. The service provider never knows the difference. Any airtime charges are connected to the SIM card, not to the phone. No contracts are required.
These days, it seems no one -- not even thieves -- can live without a cell phone.
There are other aspects to unlocking security devices on phones we intentionally omitted.
A simple way to check that you are not buying a stolen phone is to double-check the IMEI, or identifying number, on the phone. Either ask the eBay or Craigslist seller or if you can check yourself. It’s usually under the battery. Call the provider (Verizon, Sprint or AT&T) to see if it’s been reported stolen or lost. For more click on: http://www.ehow.com/how_5224280_avoid-buying-stolen-cell-phone.html
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