Facebook phone warning

An upsurge in complaints from people who have unwittingly bought stolen mobile phones through advertisements on Facebook has prompted a warning from an industry body.

The Telecommunications Forum (TCF) said phone companies were fielding ‘‘multiple’’ calls each week from people who had bought phones through Facebook groups but who later found they would not work.

Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees have operated a system since 2013 that means phones are blocked from connecting to any of their networks if they have been reported lost or stolen.

Phones cannot be reactivated by changing the Sim card, as the block is triggered by each phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, which is a unique 15-digit code automatically sent by each phone when it tries to connect to a mobile network.

TCF chief executive Geoff Thorn said about 3500 phones were being ‘‘blacklisted’’ each month.

While some of those might be devices that people had left at the likes of cafes, it did suggest phone theft was still a significant problem, he said.

‘‘Anecdotal evidence’’ suggested the majority of stolen phones were being sold through Facebook groups, since websites sites such as Trade Me had clamped down on fraudulent sales, he said

The problem would probably be worse without the blocking system, he speculated.

‘‘Mobile providers receive multiple calls per week – an increase from past years – from consumers who have no idea why a phone they purchased [through] Facebook has now stopped working.’’

Facebook was also being used to fraudulently purchase phones, the TCF warned.

‘‘Postings to Facebook groups offer cash in exchange for new phones purchased on contract; with the fraudster claiming to have a contact at the mobile provider who will wipe any evidence of the contract.

‘‘This fictitious friend/brother/uncle fails to wipe the contract and the [seller] is obligated to pay for the device eventually, despite ads claiming the deal is ‘101% legit’.’’

The TCF operates a database that lets people check if a phone has been reported stolen, by entering its IMEI,

The TCF operates a database that lets people check if a phone has been reported stolen.

which is often etched into the back of smartphones.

But Thorn warned the database was never completely up-to-date.

While ‘‘more than 90 per cent’’ of lost or stolen phones were blacklisted immediately, there could be a delay of up to 120 days before this happened.

‘‘The blacklisting delay gives retailers time to investigate fraud and protects consumers suffering financial hardship from being wrongly classified as fraudsters,’’ he said.

But that meant some stolen phones could work for up to a few months before they were cut off.

Phone thieves were quite clever in making sales appear legitimate, a statement issued by the TCF said.

‘‘Usually the buyer of the device is only saving $100 to $200 off the original retail value, which is a very small saving for a phone that only works for three months.’’

The TCF, whose members include Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees, advised people to buy phones through ‘‘an established retailer or mobile operator’’.