Senate Bill Sets Penalty for Trafficking in Stolen Cell Phones

The U.S. Senate will soon take up legislation that would impose a five-year criminal penalty for tampering with the unique identification number of a cell phone as part of a crackdown on growing cell phone theft.

In April the New York Police Department and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced establishment of an integrated database of unique cell phone identifiers, known as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, to allow cell phone companies to permanently disable stolen cell phones once they are reported stolen.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced the bill to increase the penalty for trying to alter a cell phone's unique ID number as part of that crackdown.