Mobile phones

Do you have a mobile phone?

Chances are that you do as more and more young people find the mobile phone an essential item in their life.

Owning a mobile is a great way to keep in touch with your mates whether calling, texting or sending photo or video messages. You need to use it sensibly though and there are laws that govern the use of your phone.

For example, it is against the law to use your phone to bully someone, perhaps by sending nasty text messages or to make a prank call, and recently laws were introduced to ban the use of a mobile phone whilst driving.

 

Safety tips to keep hold of your phone

• When using your phone, be aware of your surroundings and don't use it in crowded areas or where you feel unsafe
• Keep your phone with you at all times. If you are worried about someone taking it from your school or college, or when you are out, leave it at home 
• Only give your mobile number to your friends and people that you trust 
• Don't lend your phone to someone you don't know or trust, or put it in a place where other people could get hold of it 
• Most phones allow you to lock your phone with a PIN code. If you don't have the code you can't unlock it, so if anyone steals your phone they won't be able to use it 
• If you have Bluetooth on your phone, keep this switched off when you are not using it
• Register your phone with immobilise.com
• You can security mark the battery and phone with your postcode and street number or the first two letters of your house name
• Every phone has a 15-digit serial or IMEI number which is unique to the phone. You can find your phones IMEI number by keying *#06# into most phones or by looking behind the battery of your phone. Make a note of this number and keep it separate from your phone
• Don't reply to a text message or video message that is abusive or obscene. You can report abusive messages to your mobile service provider (e.g. O2, Vodafone, Orange, etc). Have a look on their website for details.

 

If your phone is stolen

If you have registered with immobilise.com, contact them as soon as possible.

If you are not registered with immobilise.com, contact your service provider immediately. Give the provider the number of the phone and the IMEI number if you have it. The service provider can arrange for the phone to be blocked on their own, and all other, networks.

The IMEI number is unique to the handset. This means that the handset itself (not just the SIM card) will be blocked and can't be used on any network, even if a new SIM card is inserted.

Report the theft to the police and as soon as possible. They will want the following details:

• Phone model details
• Phone number
• The IMEI or serial number if you have it.