Vellore police return missing phones back to its owners

The district police in Vellore have handed 250 lost and found mobile phones to the owners here on Saturday with the Superintendent of Police (SP), A. Myilvaganan distributing the phones worth ₹ 46 lakh that were recovered by the Vellore district cybercrime police, to the owners.

Saturday’s initiative comes after the formation of a Cyber Crime police unit at the SP office in the district and the introduction of a cell tracker application where complaints can be registered by complainants.

As per norms, such missing phones should be traced and returned to owners once in six months in the district by respective police stations prior to the formation of the cyber crime cell. “So far, 2,004 lost and found cell phones that are worth around Rs 3.88 crore have been returned to their owners, who complained using the cell tracker app and Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR),” Mr. Myilvaganan said.

The cybercrime team has been monitoring the missing mobile phone handsets through their IMEI number at periodical intervals. Lost phones were tracked using IMEI numbers. At present, the district police have recovered 1,754 lost and found mobile phones since July 2023 when the cell tracker application was launched.

Police said that whenever the missing phones are activated, either by those who find them on the road or bought second-hand mobile phones from shops without proper verification, the cybercrime police team alerts the user that the phones they are using are crime property.

The users either hand them over to the police or send them through courier from other districts and other States. Using cybercrime cells, all complaints of snatching or missing mobiles phones were taken up for investigation.

A helpline number (9486214166) is also available for residents to register complaints on the missing and lost mobile phones and for those who are in possession of such phones.