According to figures released by An Garda Síochána, €3 million worth of mobile phones were stolen last year.
Of these, just one-in-three knew their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number when reporting the theft, despite it being very simple to do.
As gardaí warn that “snatch and grabs” are on the rise, they are calling on the public to record their IMEI code; according to TheJournal.ie, gardaí in Galway were able to return 15 mobile phones to their owners using this code.
€3 million worth of mobile phones stolen in 2015. Only 1 in 3 knew their IMEI number when reporting theft. https://t.co/v9U9EVtwue
— Garda Info (@gardainfo) March 14, 2016
“Robberies from persons are coming down, but things like snatch and grabs are up slightly – that would be a concern,” Sergeant Kelvin Courtney of the National Crime Prevention Unit told TheJournal.ie.
“These things are very valuable. Almost €3 million worth of mobile phones were stolen in the last year – that’s round 7,000 of them – so of course it’s going to have a big impact on people.”
To record your IMEI number, the Garda Press Office advise you do the following:
- Dial *#06#
- A 15 digit IMEI number will then show up
- Take a screenshot of number and email it to yourself
