Kozhikode Police Advise Public to Verify IMEI Before Buying Second-Hand Phones

The Kozhikode city police have advised the public to thoroughly check the IMEI details of second-hand mobile phones on the Sanchar Saathi portal before making a purchase. This step is essential to ensure that the device is not blacklisted due to being lost or stolen. Earlier directives to smartphone dealers were often bypassed, prompting the police to recommend that buyers independently verify the IMEI number through the CEIR verification page on the official portal. This advisory follows a special police drive that successfully traced 124 lost mobile phones and returned them to their original owners within a two-week period. The recovered devices were handed over to the owners in a formal ceremony attended by the District Police Chief and the Assistant Commissioner of the Cyber Crime Police station. The tracing was carried out using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system, which allows authorities to track lost phones, even if they are being used in other parts of Kerala or neighbouring states. Police also emphasised the importance of promptly reporting lost phones, providing the IMEI number, and registering a duplicate SIM to block the device. Once blacklisted, no SIM can operate on the phone, though it remains traceable and can be unblocked upon submitting the request on the portal.