Ravi Shankar Prasad launches web portal to facilitate blocking, tracing of stolen and lost phones in Delhi

Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday launched a web portal that will facilitate blocking and tracing of stolen or lost mobile phones in Delhi.

The initiative was launched in September this year in Mumbai on a pilot basis.

The roll-out of the portal in Delhi will facilitate requests for blocking of stolen or lost mobile phones by customers, and sharing of traceable data with police authorities, a statement said.

"With the aim to curtail the counterfeit mobile phone market and discourage mobile phone theft, protect consumer interest and facilitate law enforcement authorities for lawful interception, DoT intends to implement Central Equipment Identity Registry (CEIR) that connects to the IMEI database of all the mobile Operators. CEIR acts as a central system for all network Operators to share black listed mobile devices so that devices blacklisted in one network will not work on other networks even if the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card in the device is changed," according to the CEIR website.

ALSO READ: Here's how you can protect phone data when it is lost or stolen

How to block a lost or stolen device through CEIR website

User needs to file a report with the police. Keep a copy of the report.

Ask your telecom service provider to issue a new SIM card for the lost number

Keep your documents ready. Documents needed include the copy of the police report and an ID proof. Users can also provide the purchase invoice of the phone.

Fill the registration form to get the IMEI blocked and upload the documents.

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Once you submit the form, you will get a Request ID. You can use the ID to keep a tab on the request status. You can also use the same for unblocking the IMEI in future.

After submitting the form, you will be given a Request ID. The same can be used for checking the status of your request and for unblocking the IMEI in future.

(With inputs from HT Correspondent)