There is a way of making lost or stolen mobiles useless to thieves.

To check your mobile phone's serial number, key in the following on your phone *#06# and a fifteen digit code will appear on the screen. This is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it safe.

If your mobile is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset, so even if the thief changes the sim card, your phone will be totally useless.

You prpbably will not get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use it either.

Sorry for the typo error in topic title!!

Doesn't work. People are "smart" and have the needed tools to change the imei (*#06#) code to anything. . Hopefully there are still a few "stupid" thieves around.

Well, I guess nothing is safe for long!! Maybe it will help for those unsohisticated thieves!!

There is a system in place to block the phone throughout EU. But many stolen phones are shipped to the Far East, Africa and elsewhere, where they still work.

What you can do when buying an (expensive) used phone is to compare the result of *#06# to the label in the battery compartment. Both numbers have to be identical. If not, or if the sticker has been removed, there's a risk the phone has been stolen. OTOH some (early) SIM unlockers changed the imei (*#06#) number too. Stupid idea, because you'll have several phones with the same ID, would have been only a question of time before all of them would be blocked.

>block the phone throughout EU.
In Germany, only Vodafone blocks those phones on the other 3 networks they work, even if they're stolen. The other german phone companies claim that "stolen phones aren't a problem" here, so they don't act.

In France, each phone has an identification number that can make it useless forever if reported. There were so many thefts (usually phone snatching of the latest cool model at cafés or while walking in the street), that this came into effect about 2 years ago.

>useless forever if reported
Doesn't work unfortunately, belive me it's just a question of some "HowTo" to "repair" it.