Over 13,000 mobile phones found running on same IMEI, manufacturer booked

Meerut Police on Thursday claimed that around 13,500 mobile phones in the country are running on the same IMEI, the number used to identify the device. A case of fraud has been registered against the mobile phone manufacturing company and its service centre, the police said.

The matter surfaced, after a police personnel gave his mobile phone to the staff at cyber crime cell for examination, as the new phone was not working properly despite being repaired, Meerut SP (city) Akhilesh N Singh said. The cyber cell found that the around 13,500 other mobile phones are also running on the same International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) as that of the police personnel's phone, the superintendent of police said. He said the matter is a serious security issue.

Prima facie it appears to be negligence on part of the mobile phone company and criminals can use it to their advantage, Singh said. He said a case has been registered under relevant sections of the law at Medical police station and a team of experts has been called to look into the matter.