GPS Helps User
To Recover His
Cellular Phone
Mauricio Valerio,
like most of us
have done, left
his cellular
phone behind in
a taxi. However,
modern
telephones have
some tools, if
the user
activates them,
to recover the
lost phone.
In the case of
Valerio, he had
activated the
phone's GPS
feature and a
software known
as "phone
locater" which
allows the phone
to be tracked
every time the
phone is turned,
sending a
location message
to a server on
the web. Some
phones also send
a text message
to a
preconfigured
number when the
SIM chip is
changed.
Phonelocator
periodic
is a free
service to help
you keep tabs on
the location of
your phone. It
runs in the
background and
can periodically
update the
phone's location
to the
Phonelocator
server.
However,
phonelocater
only works with
a select group
of Nokia,
Samsung and Sony
Ericsson phones.
While some
others have what
is called remote
lock, calling
the phone with a
code that locks
the phone
completely from
use when it is
turned on.
Valerio tells
his story on his
blog, blog "El
Alumbrado
Público",
that after
partying with
friends and
taking a taxi
home, his cell
phone fell out
of his pants
pocket when
paying for the
service, only
noticing the
missing phone
when he entered
his house.
Using modern
technology,
Valerio wrote
that he was able
to track the
phone's
location, call
the taxi
driver's boss,
get the number
of a new SIM
card placed in
the phone after
the robbery, and
call the person
who had bought
the stolen
phone.
For others who
are not so lucky
to have such a
phone or have
the system
turned on, the
Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad
(ICE), may be
your best ally.
ICE provides a
anti-theft/loss
system that
enables the
state telecom to
block the phone
from use on its
cellular network
- the only
network in Costa
Rica - if the
phone is
reported lost or
stolen by either
calling 193 or
visiting an ICE
agency.
This system
works by
notifying ICE of
your cellular
phone's IMEI -
the
International
Mobile Equipment
Identity - a
unique number to
identify
cellular phones.
ICE can then
block the IMEI
from its
network, in
effect the phone
is useless in
Costa Rica as
the phone will
not connect. ICE
allows only the
registered owner
of the phone to
reconnect after
taking the phone
to an ICE
agency.
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