With government figures showing that 75% of all adults, and almost 90% of people between 15 and 34, own or use a mobile phone, there are, inevitably, a huge number of phones in the UK that are lost or stolen each day – over 2,000 phones and other mobile IT devices, according to MEND.
But the majority of these devices are never returned to their owners simply because, even if found, there is no way of knowing to whom they actually belong. Traditional advice – that of marking the instrument with a UV pen – is often beaten by thieves using UV pens to scribble over the mark.
The solution, according to Recipero, the company that runs MEND, is to register with the free database, which has been endorsed by the police and the mobile phone industry, so that recovery agencies can easily access the ownership details and identify the phone or other device through its equipment number.
Thames Valley Police, South Yorkshire, Merseyside and Nottingham Police have all signed up to the system.