Home Office unveils anti-theft measures for mobile phones

The Home Office, in conjunction with the UK Design Council, has come up with a number of ideas to make mobile phones less likely to be stolen.

Mobile phone theft is a serious problem in this country, according to the government’s own figures, which estimate around 230 mobiles are reported stolen every single hour.

The possibilities put forward include the i-migo, a little fob-like device which is linked to a phone, and carried by the phone’s owner.

If the phone is moved too far away from the i-migo, it sounds an alarm, and locks the handset so it can’t be used. It can also use bluetooth to back up the data on the mobile, in case you never see it again. Clever stuff.

Other ideas include a PIN number system, which is required when switching a sim, along with encryption to keep the owner’s data totally secure.

The concepts sound like solid ideas, and will be shown off at the upcoming World Mobile Congress next week.