SIM Card on Stolen Phones
A US congressman is urging wireless carriers to disable the SIM card on stolen phones. Most of the major carriers already do this when a phone is reported stolen, but Sen. Schumer is alleging that their practices don't go far enough to protect consumers.
He believes that they should use unique ID numbers to totally deactivate stolen phones, making it impossible for thieves to use them. Cellphones have become a major target for thieves who are looking to sell them on the black market. In fact, the statistics from Schumer's home state of New York are especially disturbing as almost half of all property thefts in NYC involved a cell phone. Deactivating stolen phones is one of the best possible ways to deter theft, and of the major carriers only Verizon currently does this. However, Verizond doesn't use SIM cards in its phones.