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AT&T to Block Stolen Phones Starting This Week

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shocked

Haggard

Jul 9, 2012, 3:41 PM
they never had this before..but with all those stolen iPhones and people setting up service with AT&T after that, I kind of see how long it took them that long to implement this.

Entirely kidding though, but still shocked it took them this long to implement this.
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Captain Ahash

Jul 9, 2012, 4:05 PM
That was my first thought. I can't believe it wasn't done before.
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bobc74

Jul 9, 2012, 4:36 PM
yeah, I know other carriers have been doing this for many years now.
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Vmac39

Jul 9, 2012, 4:57 PM
I didn't realize that ATT would allow anyone to activate a stolen iPhone. You usually have to give account info before they will do anything regarding a phone. As for SIM card phones, owners should be SIM locking their phones.

When the phone is SIM locked, you have to put that code in, before the phone can be useful to anyone. If you add pass code protecting your phone, it makes it all but useless to a would be their or person who happens to find a lost phone.
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T Bone

Jul 9, 2012, 6:08 PM
When activating a new phone which is owned by the user and is not an upgrade you are supposed to look up the IMEI to make sure it hasn't been reported stolen....that's been standard operating procedure for years, I don't know how many people actually do it though.

But the obstacle to this policy hasn't been at&t or any other carrier, the obstacle has been the FCC, which is why the story says that this is being done 'in cooperation with the FCC', in other words, the FCC has been lifting some of their regulations to allow this to happen.
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Arjuun

Jul 9, 2012, 7:39 PM
i disagree becuse sprint has been for years doing this already and we already share our lost stolen database with other cdma cariers

so its just at@t slacking till enought people said something about it
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T Bone

Jul 9, 2012, 11:13 PM
Sprint''s phones are not locked....you need to get permission to use a phone on their network, you can't just grab a phone, plug in a SIM and go like you can with a GSM phone....
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T Bone

Jul 9, 2012, 11:28 PM
According to this press release they do no such thing, but are willing to consider it in conjunction with law enforcement..

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46799809/ns/today-toda ... »
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NonBiasedRep

Jul 11, 2012, 3:05 PM
Unfortunately alls that does is ask for a PUK code after you enter it wrong. The PUK code is given by CS. Or if you enter the PUK wrong 10 times you simply get a new SIM card.
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Snapper314

Jul 9, 2012, 7:59 PM
Yup,

Most other carriers have been doing this for quite a while.

AT&T recently caught heat for NOT doing this and that attention is what prompted them to FINALLY do this.
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T Bone

Jul 9, 2012, 11:26 PM
There is not a single carrier in the US that does this, even though it is common practice overseas

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46794322/ns/today-toda ... »
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T Bone

Jul 9, 2012, 6:09 PM
It was never at&t's choice, there were federal privacy regulations against keeping a database of customer data (which is what this is doing) and of course there is the bigger problem of coordinating all the carriers in the United States so that there would be one master list.
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