Mobile Phone Tracking

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wigweg

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#11757 10-Feb-2007 16:27

Hello, I recently had my mobile phone stolen. What I need to know is, is it possible to find the location of an 027 mobile if you know the esn number?

(Moderator edit (BG) - Assigned thread to CDMA forum from the GSM/WCDMA forum)

tonyhughes

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#60347 10-Feb-2007 16:57

If you are the account holder, then Telecom can usually tell you the general area (e.g. the name of the city) it was last used in, but thats about it.

If the phone is on, you could try some social engineering tricks, like calling them from a withheld number and telling them they have won a $100 prepaid card or a new phone, and to come down to the telecom shop at an exact time to collect the prize.

I have actually done this sort of thing before... it works about one time in ten :-)

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cokemaster

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#60348 10-Feb-2007 17:00

Best thing is to get the handset barred by reporting it stolen and barred off the network.

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wigweg

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Wannabe Geek

#60349 10-Feb-2007 17:14

Thanks for the quick replies. I phoned telecom around 1 hour after it was stolen and whoever stole it had already disconnected my number from the phone. I phoned telecom today and they said that a new number had been assigned to my stolen mobile. So I cannot try calling them and telling them they have won $100 airtime (funny idea). It really seems to me that telecom could easily track down the phone (using the esn I assume), but they are doing nothing.

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#60353 10-Feb-2007 17:38

File it with the police, they might be able to take it further.

One of the reasons why they won't give location information (or the 'connected phone number') out is because of privacy reasons (ie. ex's wanting location information of people, or disturbed family members trying to track down relatives).

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wigweg

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Wannabe Geek

#60356 10-Feb-2007 18:31

I have already informed the police. But what really gets me is the fact that whoever took my phone was able to disconnect it and reconnect it with a new number, can anyone change numbers around without being asked security questions by telecom?

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#60358 10-Feb-2007 18:42

If its a prepaid connection, there isn't much details (ie. personal details stored on the account) involved providing that the person is calling initally from the number in question.

You can request a password on the account to prevent someone calling from that phone and trying to action changes.

If its a postpaid account on the other hand...

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