The department of telecommunications recently launched a web portal for residents of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon to enable them to block and trace stolen or lost mobile phones.
The launch of the portal, www.ceir.gov.in was started on a pilot basis in Maharashtra last year and will soon be implemented across the country.
This will enable Delhi-NCR residents to block their stolen or lost phones by filling a form online and giving the required details. This in turn will enable the concerned authorities in blocking the IMEI number of the phone. IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is a 15-digit number that uniquely identifies mobile devices.
After submitting the form, the portal will also ensure sharing of traceability data with police authorities for the lost/stolen phones.
How does this portal work?
If you have lost your phone or if your phone has been stolen and you want to block your phone from misuse of sensitive information, you can submit your documents on the web portal: www.ceir.gov.in.
Here are the steps to follow:
-File an FIR with the police, and keep a copy of the report.
-Get a duplicate SIM card for the lost number from your telecom service provider. This is essential as you will need to provide this as the primary mobile number (OTP will be sent on this number) while submitting the request for blocking your IMEI.
-Get your documents ready – a copy of the FIR and an identity proof must be provided. You can also provide the mobile purchase invoice.
-Fill out the request registration form for blocking the IMEI of lost/stolen phone, and attach the required documents.
-After submitting the form, you will be given a Request ID. The same can be used for checking the status of your request and for unblocking the IMEI in future.
Note that the online portal recognises only Delhi-NCR-based phone numbers. If you are using a phone number which is not from Delhi-NCR and you lost your phone, you cannot submit your number under this portal as it won’t recognise a number based out of another Indian state.
How to unblock your lost/stolen phone once found:
To unblock a lost/stolen device, the user has to report to local police station saying that the phone has been found. After that user can unblock the device by following these steps online:
-Go to the same portal and then fill out the request registration form for unblocking the IMEI of found phone.
-After submitting the form, the IMEI will be unblocked.
The aim of this project is to reduce the resale of lost/stolen phones by blocking the IMEI number. This move will also prevent the mobile phones to duplicate the IMEIs across the network.
DoT has been working on the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), a database of IMEIs, since 2017. The CEIR will also have access to GSMA’s global IMEI database, allowing comparison of IMEI numbers to identify counterfeit handsets.
Source: Livemint
