Theft of mobile phones and their sale without any consequences is not a new practice in the Dominican Republic. For more than 15 years, the authorities and telephone companies have announced various actions to prevent this.
One of the biggest problems faced by the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel) is the number of dealers and people who operate mobile phones and sell chips behind the Telecommunications Law, 153-98.
In mid-2006, Indotel announced that it had authorized 92 dealers to resell telecommunications services., indicating that 73,000 878 series of stolen and / or lost mobile phones were reported in the first half of 2005 alone, calling on the public to report thefts to the User Support Center (CAU).
At that time, the Dominican Telecommunications Institute issued resolution no. 092-02, which establishes control mechanisms to detect, prevent and punish the activation of mobile phones that can be stolen or lost.
This provision provides that mobile service providers, their representatives, resellers, distributors or any person authorized to market these services to the public may not activate mobile phones that have been reported stolen or lost by their respective owners or tenants. .
In addition, on several occasions, Indotel and the Department of High-Tech Crime and Crime Investigation (DICAT) of the National Police raided several mobile phone shops dedicated to “washing mobile phones with the refused series,” changing “IMEI”: International Mobile Equipment Identity “and activates stolen mobile phones.
Another measure announced by the Dominican Telecommunications Institute in 2014 was a ban on the sale of chips without the presentation of an identity document.
In 2015, Indotel and the telephone companies, together with the Global Mobile Ecosystem Association (GSMA), signed an agreement to prevent the activation of stolen phones.
The agreement indicates that mobile operators will connect to the GSMA database of stolen equipment, to change the identification numbers of IMEI devices and thus block the activation of equipment reported in other networks.
In 2016, and given the increase in mobile phone theft, Indotel announced 8 measures that included: Write down your mobile device data, such as your SIM card PIN and IMEI; when traveling on the streets, mobile equipment must be stored in a place that is least visible; use hands-free tools (speakerphone, headphones) when you need to answer a call.
Also back up the information stored on your device; protect your computer with passwords; install the application or tracking program, in case of theft or loss, report the mobile equipment to the service provider. This way, you can turn off the option to make and receive calls and change your passwords.
In February 2017, together with the launch of its new portal, Indotel, it reported that it will have an application, so that citizens can check if their mobile phones have been stolen. It’s on your page and works by typing your mobile phone’s IMEI. (Https://gsma.indotel.gob.do/respuesta-de-imei/).
New measures
For February 6, 2021, Indotel announced that service providers must install equipment for people to activate a mobile phone, such as photos and the placement of their fingerprints.
The new president of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute, Nelson Arroyo, informed Listín Diario that, through various resolutions, an IMEI record of mobile phones will be kept at the time of activation, to establish that it has not been stolen.