Cop gives advice to foil cell phone thieves

MANILA, Philippines - With the holidays just around the corner, a police official has taken to social media to give the public advice in cases of cell phone theft.

Through his Facebook page, newly-installed Quezon City Police District director Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao said knowing a mobile phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI would help stop the public from patronizing stolen cell phones.

Pagdilao said phone owners should know the IMEI of their phones to stop robbers and their fence from re-selling the stolen items.

The IMEI is the 15 or 17-digit code that uniquely identifies mobile phone sets.

Pagdilao said that by dialing *#06#, the IMEI could be known. If a phone is stolen, the IMEI should be reported to the National Telecommunications Commission so it would be blocked and rendered unusable.