Lost Treo

My wife, who has been using my Treo 650 for about six months now, lost it last Friday. She had left it on her office desk and went to attend to some work and when she remembered it a few hours later, it was gone. Although it didn't really bother me that it was lost, what I found odd was that it was stolen while in a high-security Government building! How's that for irony?

Anyway, my wife was quite shaken by the thought of losing the device, one that she had grown to appreciate. She was close to tears when she called to tell me about it. I can't say I wasn't sad to hear that it was missing but these things happen. According to what I've heard, Singapore has one of the highest rate of handphones being lost or stolen. The best part is, the Inforcomm Development Authority Of Singapore (IDA) - our regulatory body for information communication and data technology - indirectly and unwittingly "supports" such theft by not assisting victims to disable stolen phones via the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number, citing high cost and network delays as a result of such traces. So, the perpetrator gets away scot-free.

In countries like Malaysia and in the UK, systems to disable phones via IMEI numbers are available to all mobile subscribers and this helps curb handphone theft as once an IMEI number has been red-flagged in the "lost" database, the phone is rendered useless to anyone who has it. Here's a story of how blocking IMEIs can help reduce handphone theft. I find it sad, not to mention disgraceful, that a technologically advanced country such as ours is unable to have such a system in place.

For now, I've lodged a police report and hope that they will check with the service providers against the IMEI number of my missing Treo 650. If they find the culprit, I will ensure that he / she will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

For all mobile phone users out there, please ensure you have your IMEI number recorded and kept. Your service provider might be able to help track down your phone in the event it is lost or stolen. And even if it is not recovered, you'll be able to sleep better knowing that whoever took your phone will never be able to use it at all.