Recent media reports have highlighted concerns raised by both the South African Police Service and Business Against Crime regarding the number of cellphone and related crimes. The country’s cellphone operators - Cell C, MTN and Vodacom - have agreed that, in future, all handsets will be blacklisted immediately making it impossible for thieves to insert and use “Pay as you go” cards in stolen cellphones.
The following system, which will be operational with immediate effect, has been put in place.
The insured must notify the service provider of the loss. The contact details are as follows: Cell C 140 or 084 140 MTN (contract subscribers) 808 or 083 1808 MTN (prepaid subscribers) 173 or 083 1173 / Vodacom 111 or 082 11
The insured will then be taken through a verification process with the service provider to prove that he/she is the owner of the cellphone. Once the service provider is satisfied with the ownership issue, the insured will be provided with a blacklisting number
The insured should then report the loss to the South African Police Service and, at the same time, provide them with the blacklisting number. The South African Police Service will register the theft, record the blacklisting number and provide the insured with a Criminal Administration System (CAS) or Occurrence Book (OB) number
Claims for cellphones will, in future, not be settled without either a CAS or OB number.
