Data from National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) indicate that they were made 930,765 requests to block the IMEI, the number that identifies each cell phone, in 2022 alone in Brazil. The numbers indicate an increase in thefts and thefts of devices.
In 2021, the same indicator recorded 864,849 block requests, i.e. a 7% increase in 2022. Still according to Anatel, most of these devices were blocked in the first two days after being taken by the bandits.
Most devices, about 768 thousand, was blocked by the operators, while the other 164,000 were destroyed by public security agencies. The survey was based on data provided by state authorities and telephone companies.
It is worth mentioning that these numbers are only an approximation, considering that not everyone who has a stolen or stolen cell phone requests the IMEI block. Others don’t even file a police report, for example.
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See, below, the states with the most requests for IMEI lock in 2022:
- São Paulo – 455,078 requests;
- Rio de Janeiro – 110,480;
- Minas Gerais – 52,130;
- bahia – 49,173;
- Rio Grande do Sul – 28,497.
Tocantins appears as the state with the lowest number of blocking requests (772), followed by Roraima (1,139), Amapá (1,417), Acre (2,038) and Rondônia (3,588). In any case, it is important to take extra care with your cell phone on the street.
The interest of criminals in devices grew even more after the concentration, almost total, of people’s information on mobile devices, including bank accounts and other extremely important personal data.
Have you ever had a cell phone stolen? Tell us about your experience below in the comments!
