From snatch to scrap: Know how how stolen smartphones disappear piece by piece..

An unsettling reality is emerging behind the mystery of missing premium smartphones Despite being registered on the Central Equipment Identity Register CEIR portal many highend devices are never recovered with a new modus operandi that seems impenetrableSelling parts for the winExperts reveal that earlier thieves would sell stolen phones at throwaway prices But the thieves have smartened up and instead of selling complete devices stolen premium smartphones are now dismantled and their individual components sold off Today smartphones are in every hand and snatching it from the hand means easy money Selling off parts is not only earning them higher profits but has drastically reduced the possibility of the thieves being tracedIndividual mobile phone parts are not traceable since the complete devices are linked to IMEI numbers As a result while lowcost phones are still being recovered through the CEIR system expensive smartphones especially iPhones often vanish without a traceWhatrsquos the costA ground investigation by Sunday midday found that the display LCDOLED is the costliest accounting for nearly 50 per cent of a phonersquos total valueiPhone Pro 17Approx Rs 155 lakhDisplay Rs 50000 ndash Rs 55000 black market Rs 67000 service centreMotherboard Rs 50000Camera Rs 4000 ndash Rs 5000Storage Rs 8000 ndash Rs 10000At the service centre these parts are typically Rs 10000 ndash Rs 15000 costlierSamsung Fold SeriesApprox Rs 15 lakhBlack market resale Rs 115 lakhInner Display Rs 50000 Rs 62000 service centreOuter Display Rs 15000 Rs 18500 service centreCameraLens Rs 4000 Rs 5000Body Rs 22000 ndash Rs 25000The price gap and the availability of ldquooriginalrdquo parts have led many consumers to prefer blackmarket purchasesParts hard to traceOnce dismantled individual parts cannot be traced No IMEI linkage remains components are easily resold The removal of key components like the CPU or motherboard makes a phone virtually untraceableA single company alone facilitates transactions worth over Rs 50 lakh worth of secondhand and damaged phones using online platformsStolen phones are sent abroad particularly to countries like China and other countries where their IMEI numbers are altered They are then reintroduced into Indiarsquos secondhand marketWhat can you dogtgt Enable location tracking and keep it switched on at all timesgtgt Activate ldquoFind My Devicerdquo and ensure it is properly configuredgtgt Use strong screen locks and biometric recognitiongtgt Avoid keeping phones unattended in public placesgtgt Act immediately if the phone is lost mdash do not delayWhat can the government dogtgt Mandate eSIM support in all smartphones sold in Indiagtgt Encourage or require lowpower Bluetooth tracking standards in Android devicesgtgt Introduce regulations for secure shutdown mechanisms passwordprotected poweroffBe smart with your phoneMobile phone theft has become increasingly common in urban areas but many cases can be mitigated if both users and policymakers adopt smarter preventive measures While law enforcement agencies do their part there is often a critical delay between theft and recovery It is during these first few minutes that the chances of retrieving a lost or stolen phone are the highestAnkur Puranik Cyber and Electronics Expert1 Lowpower Bluetooth tracking even when switched offOne of the most effective technological solutions is lowpower Bluetooth tracking as Apple has implemented in its ecosystem Even when a phone appears to be switched off it can continue to emit a secure lowenergy Bluetooth signal Nearby devices can detect this signal and anonymously relay the location to a central server If widely implemented in Android devices this feature could significantly improve recovery rates2 Mandatory eSIM AdoptionThe use of eSIM technology can play a crucial role in preventing the misuse of stolen phones This makes it harder for thieves to disconnect the device from the network allowing tracking systems to function for a longer duration3 Restricting poweroff without authenticationA simple yet powerful safeguard would be requiring a password PIN or biometric authentication before a phone can be switched off Thieves power off devices immediately cutting off tracking capabilities