Thieves take off with $50,000 worth of cellphones

The anecdotal evidence for a spike in electronics robberies is piling up, with the latest high profile robbery netting the thieves $50,000 worth of cellphones from a T-Mobile store. Three armed men walked into the store in Fort Bend County in Texas on Thursday, and demanded the "good phones" from the store's safe and the tapes from the CCTV. Staff were tied up, and the thieves deposited the phones into black plastic bags and walked out. Unfortunately for the robbers, T-Mobile keeps a good track of its inventory, and can identify any of the phones if they turn up on the network (meaning that the $50,000 sticker value is much lower on the black market). Crime doesn't pay, especially when your stolen goods can be tracked.

[Via textually]

[Keyan @ Jun 24th 2007 12:12PM]

I live in Fort Bend county, Texas!

But I'm in Iran right now... I wonder where I'm safer

[ThatsNotPudding @ Jun 25th 2007 10:43PM]

You're in Iran?? You might not want to be posting here; Ahmadinejad is a big Engadget fan.

[carlo @ Jun 24th 2007 12:13PM]

HAAAAA HA HA HA. AND A T-MOBILE STORE of all places.

[Big @ Jun 24th 2007 12:25PM]

I GOT DA' HOOK UP !

[Big @ Jun 24th 2007 12:28PM]

I always thought Cingular, T Mobile and most other GSM networks ran IMEI blacklisting to make stolen phones UNUSEABLE.

Seems to me that property should keep most expensive phones from being stolen.

[paul34 @ Jun 24th 2007 12:32PM]

Nope, they don't care in the US. However, since T-Mobile has European (and thus, good GSM) roots, they probably already have it implemented in the system.

Cingular, on the other hand, is too lazy to go look it up. Easier just to get insurance to write a check and go sell some more KRZRs

[Randomness @ Jun 24th 2007 2:46PM]

Nope on the IMEI blacklist. When my T-Mo phone was stolen, it was "Too bad, which phone would you like to buy from us next?"

In Europe and other countries, they do use the IMEI blacklisting feature because phones tend to be more important in everyone's lives. Kinda really pisses you off when every other country seems to use this feature. They grab your IMEI to tell what model of phone you're using to decide the expensive internet plan they can offer you, but can't implement it to block stolen phones from the network. Do they need more cutomers that bad they will allow stolen phones over here?

[Nogami @ Jun 24th 2007 2:50PM]

It would, except most of the time, different operators don't share their IMEI blacklists for different networks.

If there was a global blacklist database, it would probably stop a lot of theft, but the reality is that most operators only care about blacklists for their own network (so they don't have to worry about fraudulent calls).

If these thieves are reselling the handsets in a different country (which seems likely, based on their ethnic "diversity" as described in the article), then selling/using them won't be an issue.

It's also possible (though more difficult, depending on the model), to reprogram the IMEI.

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 25th 2007 11:45AM]

The better fix here would be stronger AES level SIM LOCK! But the MO's don't have the fortitude to make it happen with the phone manufacturers. You guys are soooo right! EIRs drive devices to overseas networks that don't share IMEI blacklists.

Example: MO orders 100k Razrs and the MFR (per the contract) says yes they are locked (knowing, that 100's of websites have unlocking services, apps, etc.). This to me is a breach of contract!

If that subsides $25 Razr is properly SIM Locked then steal away. It will only work on the purchasing MO's network! The thief's disclaimer on eBay will be "only works on X's network". So if someone purchases it innocently and signs up and becomes a good paying customer of the MO who the phone is SIM locked to, isn't that in a round about way, not a bad thing for the MO?

[foxdie @ Jun 24th 2007 12:30PM]

Cell phones from antwerp? what do i know about boxing promoting?
cell phones in a safe? is that necessary?

[cDub @ Jun 24th 2007 12:31PM]

only on engadget can you learn how to take off gun locks and what tech you dont want to steal.
:-)

[Josh @ Jun 24th 2007 12:50PM]

If you needed to read a blog to realize that stealing devices that all have unique identifiers and must connect to an easily-monitored network in order to be used might not be the best idea, then I can see why you would resort to thievery in lieu of the other jobs of your caliber.

[Jerky @ Jun 24th 2007 12:46PM]

I used to work for the department in T-Mo that handled internal security video. There are no CCTV tapes. WTF, do we live in the stone age here? We have DVMR's that digitally record the video that can be remoted into from any location in the world provided there is internet. Second, a blacklist is a joke! T-Mo, or any other GSM carrier in the US for that matter cannot sustain a blacklist. The only way these phones would be recovered is by an active search on the current T-Mo network for the device. Then the account has to be identified and contacted and instructed that they have stolen property. Seriously, GSM isn't that good for internal monitoring of these things.

[phil @ Aug 15th 2007 7:59PM]

I had my phone stolen recently. I called t-mobile and had them run the IMEI number. They informed me that someone was using my phone on their system but they wouldn't do any thing about it. They told me to file a police report which I did and then have them contact their legal deptartment. The detective could not believe what they said. Basically too bad so sad. They know who has my phone and will do nothing about it! They encourage the theft of phones as far as I'm concerned. Just pop in a new sim card and they'll be happy to accomodate you as a new customer. What Crap! Just knowing that some turd is using my phone ticks me off. At least send the sim card back!

[Jake @ Jun 24th 2007 12:58PM]

Sucks to the poor sap who buys one of these phones from eBay/Craigslist thinking he got a great deal...a "steal" if you must.

[unimatrixzer0 @ Jun 24th 2007 1:05PM]

I thought if they swapped SIM cards everything would be peachie?

[madd_matt @ Jun 24th 2007 1:12PM]

There are ways that the carrier can identify the individual phone, not just the SIM card in it. There is a string called the IMEI that allows a phone to be identified.

Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMEI

[Chuckles McGee @ Jun 24th 2007 1:40PM]

And they decided to rob a Tmobile instead of waiting a few days and jacking iPhones why?

[John Doe @ Jun 24th 2007 2:09PM]

They have good taste?

[Adam @ Jun 24th 2007 1:45PM]

Why would you go to T-mobile. Wait not even a week and walk into an ATT store and steal the iPhones which are probably stacked high in a pile around back for sale next week.

[alex1robinson @ Jun 24th 2007 1:48PM]

Well most stolen phones get exported to india, seriously they sell you stolen phone on markets, they probably still contain all the old contact numbers! Indian operaters don't care about IMEI numbers...

[Jamar @ Jun 24th 2007 9:21PM]

Happens in China too- lost phones (dropped somewhere) are picked up and sold at markets. Great for cheap people that want a good phone (lots of nice Japanese phones, and possibly the only way to get a Sharp 903SH for less than $300US) but bad for the original owners.

[crazihouse @ Jun 24th 2007 1:59PM]

Besides, there are ways to change your IMEI anyway.

[Tim @ Oct 18th 2007 8:06AM]

Whilst true, it's hard in the case of some phones and getting harder. Hell it can even hard for those working for phone manufacturers to get an IMEI change these days!

However it's meaningless when exported to countries who care not about IMEI, or to the thieves who flog them on ebay who don't care that the phone is dead to the buyer so long as they get the money before their account is closed and they disappear into the night.

Best thing for phone thefts at the moment is for ebay to just flat ban phone sales. I'm betting the vast majority have some dodgy history.

[willysson @ Jul 15th 2007 1:41AM]

i live in Thailand and in order to fund the build out of transmission networks, the local carriers all charged sky high prices for handsets (like 5X what it costs in the US) with talk time dirt cheap. So, they all block IMEI #s not native to their network. Thus, one couldn't even change the IMEI #.

[YouFaceTheTick @ Jun 24th 2007 2:07PM]

You would thing big chains would have CCTV info sent off-site via the internet. Sure, save the info locally but why not save a frame every second to a co-lo elsewhere? Doesn't make sense in 2007 to be using video or saving locally.

[hotrodmex @ Jun 24th 2007 2:14PM]

Well, they can't steal iPhones because they won't be arriving in stores until the 29th. Literally, my location is scheduled to receive them in the evening on the 29th.

[Alex @ Jun 24th 2007 2:14PM]

can't the thieves take the phones apart and sell the parts, not the phone in one piece? Is there anything stopping them from doing so, without getting caught?

[THLinTX @ Jun 24th 2007 2:15PM]

Now is that $50,000 value with or without a service contract?

(All stupidity aside - that's just a couple miles down the road from me, and I hadn't heard about it until just now. These intertubes are amazing!)

[michael @ Jun 24th 2007 3:07PM]

all this means is they cant sell it to anyone with a tmobile account. they can sell it to any other gsm carrier in north america andtheres nothing tmobile can so the value is stillthere

[Brian @ Jun 24th 2007 3:10PM]

Actually, this store is right by where I live. It's right inside the Sugar Land-Houston border. This area has been in the news alot lately because of all the robberies and burglaries, many of which aren't reported by the police or covered up. So much for being the one of the "best towns in America."

[tekdroid @ Jun 24th 2007 3:12PM]

lol. These guys will be identified before you can say "working in retail is an honest living, try it sometime"

:)

[Ferny @ Jun 24th 2007 3:13PM]

I can't believe no one has mentioned that he is wearing an army shirt.

[JT_X @ Jun 24th 2007 3:33PM]

That's amazing. This happened at a store nowhere near me at all...

[kirby @ Jun 24th 2007 3:58PM]

Heh,

They won't get caught if their not stupid, course majority of robberies the people who do it run on intimidation/scare tactics to get what they want.

Lol, watch on ebay as there is a "Lot of T-mobile Cell phones" for sale soon :)

And IMEI changing is very possible, these phones have been populated by T-mobile, making software for IMEI changing as easy as typing the new number and hitting commit :), of course they can always unlock them and sell them for Cingular, and international GSM carriers.

[designista @ Jun 25th 2007 7:10PM]

- T-mobile has some pretty lame phones and lags behind in cutting edge devices, so i can see where the thieves bounty (or is it booty?) would be very marketable - LOL - before and after their jail sentences. Also the iPhones etc require hefty service fees and some savvy so they prolly can't change hands so quickly or cheaply.
I venture to say that the thieves did not analyze it so much as we have here. Also wonder about their literacy skills.
The whole thing seems ill conceived as a plan!
- Good thing they are not in security/tech fields... but then who knows for sure.

[captain underpants and the bringdown gang @ Jun 24th 2007 4:07PM]

they can just find someone to unlock the phones and sell them at a even higher than retail value rate.

[Adam @ Jun 24th 2007 4:09PM]

I bet they took 5,000 Sidekick IDs...

[mentalsticks @ Jun 24th 2007 4:35PM]

Hahaha! Rape! That's funny!

[Ayle @ Jun 24th 2007 7:10PM]

They will just change the imei....

[PEZ @ Jun 24th 2007 10:01PM]

I bet they werent iPhones. HAHAHAHA

[Ben @ Jun 24th 2007 10:23PM]

How about Stealing the phones and say using them in South America or Asia?? I mean Mexico is not too far from Texas is it??

[Britboyj27 @ Jun 25th 2007 1:10AM]

Mexico is also, geographically speaking, North America.

[designista @ Jun 25th 2007 6:54PM]

ahhh - Texas IS Mexico - and its all North America...

[David Koh @ Jun 25th 2007 5:24AM]

Man, I really hope that they have some sort of insurance to cover that loss. If it was stolen from me and I dint have insurance I prolly would have died of heartache. At least, this was from a big company that can withstand the loss and most probably would have bought insurance.

[Jeff @ Jun 25th 2007 11:53AM]

Downs baby.

[Robert Peel @ Jun 25th 2007 4:32PM]

I've seen this fella at a motor show, name of James I think.
Seemed like a shifty character, that's why I remembered him.

[Robert Peel @ Jun 25th 2007 4:35PM]

Not Downs QEH!