eBay bans sale of stolen mobile phones

eBay has banned people selling stolen, blocked and barred mobile phone handsets on its UK site.

By working with the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit (NMPCU ), eBay hopes to play a pivotal role in clamping down on the growing problem of mobile phone theft by making it more difficult for the thieves to sell these on.

eBay has said any listings for stolen, blocked or barred mobile phones will be taken down as they are in breach of eBay’s policy on Encouraging Illegal Activity.

It won't be asking sellers for the IMEI numbers to check against police data on mobile phones. But as these phones are usually sold to buyers abroad because they are barred by UK networks, anything that indicates the phone may be blocked will result in the listing being taken down.

"Because most of these phones end up abroad, if these phones are not listed as blocked or barred the seller indicates the phones are for use abroad. This is a big give away it could be stolen," said Detective Chief Inspector Mick McNally, at the NMPCU.

The company is also hoping to get eBayers to report any listings for blocked/barred mobile phones so that they can be taken down promptly.

To back up this drive to remove stolen phones from its listings, the auction site has launched an on-site campaign to communicate its policy against the sale of blocked or barred mobile phones to its users.

A guide that has been written jointly by NMPCU and eBay warns buyers of the dangers of buying stolen handsets, as well as advice about how to ensure that a handset is not stolen.

Garreth Griffith head of Trust & Safety at eBay.co.uk said: "Educating our users on both what to look out for when buying a mobile phone and what is legitimate to sell on the site is paramount."

The initiative is a follow up to a successful joint-operation in Greater London to identify and arrest eBay users trying to sell blocked or barred phones.

The joint investigation by NMPCU and eBay’s Fraud Investigations Team led to the execution of 20 warrants and 13 arrests in the Greater London area.

Forty-five stolen mobile handsets were seized as part of NMPCU raids carried out on the basis of information supplied by eBay.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick McNally, at the NMPCU said: "Closing down this avenue for the sale of stolen mobile phones is a vital part of our campaign to halt handset theft – if thieves cannot sell the items, the drive to steal them will be significantly reduced.

"Many phones are stolen in street robberies or muggings – a crime which can have a devastating effect upon the victim. Any pro-active initiative which will reduce these sometimes violent offences is a very good thing."

He said it would be up to eBay to ensure the phones didn't end up with innocent buyers in the UK.

He warned if this starts to happen it will reflect on eBay and its reputation so he imagined the company would be on the look-out for sellers forced back to UK buyers.

He suggested they ask sellers for the IMEI number which they can then run against the Checkmend database for stolen property such as mobile phones .

The NMPCU is also urging the public to register their mobile phones free of charge on a special website.

The police said the data garnered here gives them the best chance of recovering stolen phones and arresting those who commit mobile phone crime.