I lend my spare four year old phone to a friend who migrated from Canada a couple of years back, and she lost her phone last week.  Someone picked up the phone and put a 2degrees SIM card (well, it is a 022 number and I have checked the number with Skinny and Vodafone using the 300 service, both of them saying it is not their number.  And 2degress 300 service was down today) and send her husband a text (by looking at the phone book of the phone i think) and says he/she will return the phone for a payment of $100.

It is not a flash phone but I think I should call 2degrees to block the phone since I am the owner of the phone.  I have the IMEI number of the phone with the original receipt.  However, 2degrees say they cannot block the phone for me because when the phone was lost, the connection (SIM card) was not with them (she was and is still with Vodafone).

I told 2degress I have the phone number of the thief / dodgy person and the number suggests it is a 2degress number.  However, the operator say they cannot do anything because I am not with 2degress?

What is my option now?  I will try to call VF and ask them to block the IMEI, but I think 2d and VF does not share the black list so the dodgy person can still use the phone on 2d?!

Please help... thanks a lot.