Not Just 'IMEI' Number But Know More about ‘New Website’ to Find your Lost or stolen Mobile!

The department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated a new web portal in the name of a project called Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) which will help the mobile phone users to find their lost phones. Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, the minister for communications introduced the portal in Mumbai on September 13 (Friday).  The main motto of the project is to block the reported lost or stolen mobile devices which also includes tracking the mobile.

It is a known fact that all the mobile devices are equipped with International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) and many users use the number to trace the phone by themselves with the help of another mobile.

However, the Gadgets 360 report says that IMEI is reprogrammable and there are chances that miscreants would reprogram the IMEI number which leads to duplication of similar IMEI numbers. When it is done, the same IMEI number will be found in many devices which makes the process even more complicated. The CEIR project also prevents the duplication of IMEI numbers across mobile devices.

The process of making a complaint about your lost or stolen phone goes like this - Initially, you would have to file an FIR (First Information Report) with the police and inform DoT through the helpline 14422. The rest of the procedure would be briefed to you by DoT. Reportedly the service is currently being operated in Maharashtra on a pilot basis.  It is said that the DoT has been working on CEIR since 2017 and they possess the database of all IMEI numbers in India.