Cyberabad Police return stolen, lost mobile phones worth Rs 3.04 crore to owners

Cyberabad police recovered 1,016 mobile phones worth Rs.3.04 crore that were lost or stolen in the past two months and returned them to their owners, urging citizens to report such incidents promptly through the CEIR portal for faster tracking

Hyderabad: The Cyberabad Police have recovered a total of 1,016 mobile phones worth Rs.3.04 crore, which were either stolen or lost in the last two months. On Tuesday, M Ramesh handed over the recovered devices to the victims as part of the 10th phase of the mobile phone recovery initiative.

The mobile phones were traced and recovered using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal, a platform introduced by the Government of India to track lost or stolen mobile devices, Cyberabad police said.

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The recovery was carried out by different Crime Control Sections (CCS) across the commissionerate. Among them, CCS Shamshabad recovered 265 phones, CCS Serilingampally 255, CCS Quthbullapur 181, CCS Kukatpally 160, and CCS Rajendranagar 155 phones.

Speaking on the occasion, the Cyberabad Police Commissioner said the police were using advanced technology and digital tracking tools to identify and recover lost or stolen mobile phones and return them to their owners.

He urged citizens to immediately register complaints on the CEIR portal if their phones were lost or stolen so that authorities could quickly track the devices.

The Cyberabad Police Commissioner said the Telangana Police were conducting “Operation Crackdown” across the State to take strict action against cyber criminals and those assisting them. Efforts were also being made to recover money from frozen bank accounts and return it to victims of cyber fraud.

Cyberabad Crime DCPs Muthyam Reddy and Sai Manohar advised people who lose their phones to immediately block their SIM cards and temporarily secure their bank accounts to prevent misuse. The senior police officers also suggested enabling strong passwords or biometric locks on mobile devices.

What to do if the phone is lost

• File a police complaint (FIR) about your lost or stolen phone. You will need a copy, either digital or physical, for the CEIR filing process.

• Locate your phone’s IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number. It is usually printed on a sticker behind the battery or on the retail box.

• If you cannot find the IMEI physically, dial *#06# on your phone to retrieve the IMEI number.

• Visit the CEIR portal and click on the red tab ‘Block Stolen/Lost Mobile’.

• A form will appear. Fill in the mobile number associated with the lost or stolen SIM card, IMEI number and FIR details.

• Complete the Captcha verification and click ‘Get OTP’.

• An OTP will be sent to your mobile number (if you still have access to another phone using that number). Enter the OTP to verify.

• The CEIR system will process your request. Upon successful registration, you will receive a confirmation message with a reference ID for future tracking.

To report phone theft, citizens can call 1930 or visit cybercrime.gov.in to file a complaint without delay.