A retired Hyderabad Govt. Officer  lost Rs 1.6 lakh to cyber fraud three days after his phone was stolen. The thief used the UPI pin of the stolen phone to buy goods worth thousands of rupees.

This is just one of the thousands of cases in India, where people are tricked into stealing cell phones. One of the reasons authorities cite is the difficulty in tracking stolen or lost phones, leading to a delay in catching the accused.

To reduce the rampant theft of mobile phones, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is ready to implement a Central Equipment Identity Registry (CEIR).

According to The Indian Express report, consumers whose phone is stolen or lost can alert the DoT to a helpline number after filing a report with the Police. Then, the department will blacklist the IMEI number, and the phone will not work since the reception of any signal or connectivity will be blocked.

This new tracking policy may not necessarily guarantee that you will recover your lost phone, but it will ensure that it does not work to prevent leakage of personal information. The helpline number is likely to be effective in a few weeks.


“The theft and cloning of mobile phones have become a serious problem. The theft of mobile phones is not only a financial loss but also a threat to [the] personal lives of citizens, as well as national security. Counterfeit mobile phones on the market are another problem for DoT. A considerable number of counterfeit mobile phones are active on our mobile networks with fake IMEI numbers, ”reads the memo from the DoT office accessed by The Indian Express.

The plan to create a registry of mobile identification numbers was first proposed in 2012 under the National Telecommunications Policy. The state-owned BSNL IT project service unit also carried out a pilot project in Pune.

What Is IMEI and How To Access It :
An IMEI is a number assigned to each cellular device. Identify the device within the mobile network. With this, a mobile phone can be locked for another person or phone company to use in the event of loss or theft.

It is recommended that you never share the IMEI publicly, as it can be misused. Android and iPhone users can verify their number by dialling * # 06 #. The number can also be found behind the battery. You can write down the number for your reference.

As in March 2018, data from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India, India had 1.16 billion wireless subscribers. In Bangalore alone, 200 mobile phones disappear per day. Since 2016, 2.43 lakh wireless phones have been reported missing or stolen, according to The Times of India.

With the increase in the number of lost phones, the introduction of the IMEI database will be a relief to citizens and the government.


India is not the first country to maintain its unique identity registry. Other countries that have already implemented this provision include Turkey, Australia, the United Kingdom and Egypt.

Also read : 

What is Truecaller ? and how is the word. Is true caller is safe or not to use


An article by Munna Suprathik