Post by livinginmedellin on May 8, 2016 11:59:51 GMT -5
The figures are staggering: in Colombia are stolen nearly 2.8 million cellphones a year. That is, daily 2700, or 112 each hour. During the minutes you read this article, about 10 people have been stripped of their cellphone.
The calculations were made by the GSMA, the association of mobile operators and the world's largest telecommunications, which places Colombia with the second highest count cellphone theft in Latin America. Only Argentina has more, where an estimated 6500 phones are stolen daily.
In Cali, Colombia's second city most affected by this crime after Bogota in 2015 3,837 complaints were filed. That is, every day more than 10 people reported being victims of this theft. The Ministry of Information Technologies estimates that the number of officially reported cases does not exceed 20% of total thefts. So, then, in Cali criminals would be stealing some 50 cell daily.
The Police records also indicate that these small objects that have become an extension, in almost an artificial organ in the human body are also the spoils most coveted by thieves: 42% of thefts in the city has intended to strip the victim of their smartphone.
Why the stolen cellphone so profitable? How much money moves in the black market? What happens to the cell that are stolen in Cali?
The business
Daniel is 14 years old and is part of a band called 'The Lobsters', formed by minors and has specialized in thefts of gold and cellphones in the center of Cali. Five guys up the band and, according to Daniel, the daily purpose is to steal at least two high-end cellphones between caleños walking downtown.
Why two? Simple. For Samsung Galaxy S2 or S3 in good condition, they can receive between 200 and 300 thousand pesos in the stores center where stolen phones are collected. If they manage to steal two of those cellphones, they may be 500 thousand for the whole band, ie, 100 thousand for each.
Daniel noted that the band itself does not perform what is known as a heist, but their procedures are to take advantage of the carelessness of pedestrians to get phones wallets, handbags or even pockets, which are carried. "You already know that normally, people put the cellphone in small pockets of the case. So that's where to look for. The easiest to steal are carried in pockets. In any tumult one robs "says Daniel.
Note that the first thing that is done once the phone is stolen is removing the sim card and turning it off to avoid being located. They are then sold in local shopping centers, where they are put into circulation through the black market. According to researchers Sijín, most cellphones stolen in the city are resold in commercial center, from where they are transferred to storage centers hidden in various buildings in that area to be modified or to alter their Imei, and then be put back on sale.
"They make a renewal process. Replace the covers, displays if present scratches or broken, and even change their batteries, all that in order to give the impression that they are new cellphones. After that, they are distributed locally or sold to Ecuador and Venezuela, "says the researcher. A considerable part of the stolen cellphones in Cali are sent to Ecuador or Venezuela because in that market are much lower than the legal cell prices.
"A cell is sold by an offender at prices not exceeding 300,000 pesos. But those who resell it, they can trade up to 700,000, depending on the model, ie, they are earning 100% for each device. If between January and April this year 1333 have been reported cases of stolen cellphones in Cali. Of course, keep in mind that this figure is much higher, because we are only counting the thefts reported, and the percentage of complaints is very low. "
Why is it difficult to stop this crime?
"We have knowledge of places where you can be selling stolen cell phones and have done many operations. We seized phones that do not have papers for buying and stop those who are selling, the problem is that when going to prosecute detainees, we have no evidence to support these mobile phones are stolen, for the simple reason that there are no complaints " says a researcher Sijín Police.
The source maintains that the main difficulty to mitigate the problem not only in Cali but throughout the country, is the lack of reported thefts of cellphones.
"Cell phones that are illegal can be seized, but the complaint can not prosecute anyone and those who sell the stolen equipment, which ultimately are the most important link, are free".
According to figures from the Ministry of Information Technologies, between 2014 and 2015 theft of cellphones in the country decreased by 18%, a low percentage when you consider that the target was 50%.
In Cali, according to police data, this reduction was 2% and during the first four months of this year, the number of recorded robberies increased from 1279 in 2015 to 1333 in 2016, ie increased by 50 cases. The other variable which partly explains the low decrease in cellphone theft, is that the owners have not become aware of the need to report this Imei.
The IMEI is the internal number of each cell identifiable. When a user records the IMEI code to the database Imei Colombia, this code is sent to another shared basis between the main telephony operators in the world and therefore if a theft occurs, the cell can be completely blocked in seconds.
"There is one thing to make clear is that users have a lot of responsibility on the scourge of theft of mobile phones. On the one hand, there are those who do not report and therefore efficiency when judicializar is lost and, on the other hand, there are those who buy stolen cell, "says a researcher Sijín.
It is estimated that in Colombia there are about 8 million stolen phones that are still active, ie, that were bought on the black market.
See (in Spanish): www.elcolombiano.com/colombia/las-escandalosas-cifras-del-robo-de-celulares-en-colombia-NY4111791
The calculations were made by the GSMA, the association of mobile operators and the world's largest telecommunications, which places Colombia with the second highest count cellphone theft in Latin America. Only Argentina has more, where an estimated 6500 phones are stolen daily.
In Cali, Colombia's second city most affected by this crime after Bogota in 2015 3,837 complaints were filed. That is, every day more than 10 people reported being victims of this theft. The Ministry of Information Technologies estimates that the number of officially reported cases does not exceed 20% of total thefts. So, then, in Cali criminals would be stealing some 50 cell daily.
The Police records also indicate that these small objects that have become an extension, in almost an artificial organ in the human body are also the spoils most coveted by thieves: 42% of thefts in the city has intended to strip the victim of their smartphone.
Why the stolen cellphone so profitable? How much money moves in the black market? What happens to the cell that are stolen in Cali?
The business
Daniel is 14 years old and is part of a band called 'The Lobsters', formed by minors and has specialized in thefts of gold and cellphones in the center of Cali. Five guys up the band and, according to Daniel, the daily purpose is to steal at least two high-end cellphones between caleños walking downtown.
Why two? Simple. For Samsung Galaxy S2 or S3 in good condition, they can receive between 200 and 300 thousand pesos in the stores center where stolen phones are collected. If they manage to steal two of those cellphones, they may be 500 thousand for the whole band, ie, 100 thousand for each.
Daniel noted that the band itself does not perform what is known as a heist, but their procedures are to take advantage of the carelessness of pedestrians to get phones wallets, handbags or even pockets, which are carried. "You already know that normally, people put the cellphone in small pockets of the case. So that's where to look for. The easiest to steal are carried in pockets. In any tumult one robs "says Daniel.
Note that the first thing that is done once the phone is stolen is removing the sim card and turning it off to avoid being located. They are then sold in local shopping centers, where they are put into circulation through the black market. According to researchers Sijín, most cellphones stolen in the city are resold in commercial center, from where they are transferred to storage centers hidden in various buildings in that area to be modified or to alter their Imei, and then be put back on sale.
"They make a renewal process. Replace the covers, displays if present scratches or broken, and even change their batteries, all that in order to give the impression that they are new cellphones. After that, they are distributed locally or sold to Ecuador and Venezuela, "says the researcher. A considerable part of the stolen cellphones in Cali are sent to Ecuador or Venezuela because in that market are much lower than the legal cell prices.
"A cell is sold by an offender at prices not exceeding 300,000 pesos. But those who resell it, they can trade up to 700,000, depending on the model, ie, they are earning 100% for each device. If between January and April this year 1333 have been reported cases of stolen cellphones in Cali. Of course, keep in mind that this figure is much higher, because we are only counting the thefts reported, and the percentage of complaints is very low. "
Why is it difficult to stop this crime?
"We have knowledge of places where you can be selling stolen cell phones and have done many operations. We seized phones that do not have papers for buying and stop those who are selling, the problem is that when going to prosecute detainees, we have no evidence to support these mobile phones are stolen, for the simple reason that there are no complaints " says a researcher Sijín Police.
The source maintains that the main difficulty to mitigate the problem not only in Cali but throughout the country, is the lack of reported thefts of cellphones.
"Cell phones that are illegal can be seized, but the complaint can not prosecute anyone and those who sell the stolen equipment, which ultimately are the most important link, are free".
According to figures from the Ministry of Information Technologies, between 2014 and 2015 theft of cellphones in the country decreased by 18%, a low percentage when you consider that the target was 50%.
In Cali, according to police data, this reduction was 2% and during the first four months of this year, the number of recorded robberies increased from 1279 in 2015 to 1333 in 2016, ie increased by 50 cases. The other variable which partly explains the low decrease in cellphone theft, is that the owners have not become aware of the need to report this Imei.
The IMEI is the internal number of each cell identifiable. When a user records the IMEI code to the database Imei Colombia, this code is sent to another shared basis between the main telephony operators in the world and therefore if a theft occurs, the cell can be completely blocked in seconds.
"There is one thing to make clear is that users have a lot of responsibility on the scourge of theft of mobile phones. On the one hand, there are those who do not report and therefore efficiency when judicializar is lost and, on the other hand, there are those who buy stolen cell, "says a researcher Sijín.
It is estimated that in Colombia there are about 8 million stolen phones that are still active, ie, that were bought on the black market.
See (in Spanish): www.elcolombiano.com/colombia/las-escandalosas-cifras-del-robo-de-celulares-en-colombia-NY4111791