BANGALORE: Lost your mobile phone? Not to worry. Your cell phone operator or the police can help you find it if only you can give them the IMEI number.

The IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) is your handset's fingerprint that helps track down your lost phone.

Here's how you can find the IMEI number of your cell phone: Just punch in *#06#, and the phone will display a 15-digit number. Note this number.

The IMEI number gets logged on to the SIM card and a cellular operator can locate the area from where a call is made, says Jagdish Kini, CEO, Bharati Mobile Services.

Alarmed by growing number of mobile thefts and losses, operators and the police are creating awareness about this.

"Existing recovery systems are good, but identification becomes a problem since owners don't know their IMEI,'' says Bangalore ACP H.M.A. Sharief.

He says cell phone thefts reported to the police have doubled in the city over the last one year. And what's reported is believed to be only 10% of the actual number. "Every one carries a cell phone these days and it is easy to snatch one and sell in the grey market.''

The IMEI number assumes importance because thieves and unauthorised users have become clever enough not to use the same SIMs or service providers. While it is possible for each service provider to track the transactions of its subscribers, tracking becomes complicated when the networks are changed.

BSNL GM, mobile services (Karnataka Telecom Circle), M.C. Kalkura says cell operators can block or track all calls originating from a lost mobile provided the IMEI number is noted.

"Tracking systems can become even more efficient if switches and networks of all service providers could pool intelligence,'' he says.

BSNL's CellOne alone replaces over 200 SIM cards a month due to handset theft.

Source: The Times of India