Important information for Mobile Phone Users

Colin Yates is the Regional Fraud Manager for Vodafone New Zealand and Australia. He has over 12 years experience in managing Telecommunications fraud, firstly with Telecom New Zealand and more latterly with Vodafone.  Colin is on the executive of a number of the world's leading Telecommunication Fraud Forums.  Prior to entering the Telecommunications industry, Colin spent 19 years with the New Zealand Police.

Mobile Phone Ownership – Is this a risk free experience?

As you will see from my bio, I have now been in the telecommunications industry managing fraud and risk for a number of years.  I first started with Telecom New Zealand in 1990 and in those days telecom fraud was quite different than it is today.  The changes in Telecom fraud and risk have kept pace with changes in technology.  I recall shortly after starting with Telecom, having to drive to Napier to investigate a particular fraud incident.  I stopped alongside the lake in Taupo to have lunch, and took my mobile phone to the picnic table with me.  This mobile phone was about the size of a brief case and while having lunch it rang, and it was someone from British Telecom in London calling me to talk about some specific incident.  I finished this conversation and thought to myself, wow, technology cannot get much better than this.

How wrong I was.  Over the past 5 or so years, there have been amazing changes within the telecommunications industry.  If someone had said to me back at that time in 1990 while I was by Lake Taupo that in the year 2002 you could TXT, PXT, access the net, prepay your calls, or roam to 80 Countries with your mobile phone, I would have told them they were mad.  The industry has gone through some exciting developments, and these are going to continue.

However it is an unfortunate fact that with new technology comes new risks and I have been asked to write about mobile phone safety, particularly as it related to the risks facing our younger mobile phone users.

As I am now working for Vodafone, the information I will provide will be more directed towards the GSM network (the network Vodafone use which is quite different to that used by Telecom) as I am now more familiar with this.

When you talk about Mobile Phone Safety, two things immediately spring to mind. The first is the controversial debate about RF emissions from Mobile Phones and their health risk. I do not intend to touch on this subject. The second is the issue around driving a motor vehicle while talking on a mobile phone (without a hands free kit). Statistics say that mobile phone users are four to five hundred percent more likely to get into traffic accidents than those who do not use them.  Talking on mobile phones (without hands free) while driving is unlawful in a large number of countries, but not in New Zealand.  I think it should be.  I also intend to say no more on this subject, but invite anyone interested in this problem to do an Internet search on “Mobile phone safety” and look at the results.

Here are a few issues to keep in mind.

Purchasing a second hand mobile phone

Be aware when purchasing a second hand Mobile phone that if it has previously been reported stolen, or used fraudulently, then it may not work. Always test a second hand mobile phone before you use it to make sure it works. If the mobile phones IMEI has previously been entered onto the EIR and ‘blacklisted’, you may have difficulty having those details removed from the EIR.

Responding to TXT of PXT messages from strangers

TXT messaging is now part of our everyday life and most people could not imagine being without it. It is an inexpensive and convenient way of communicating.  However TXT has introduced similar risks to those of Internet chat rooms, that is you are not always sure of the real identity of the person you are communicating with.  Within an Internet chat room, anyone can be hiding behind an IP address.  With TXT, anyone can be hiding behind an ‘anonymous’ Prepay Mobile Phone.

The warning around Txt Messaging is exactly the same as that applied to Internet Chat Rooms. Don’t agree to meet people you do not know, unless you do so in circumstances where you are completely safe, for example you are with a group of friends.

Mobile phones are now regarded as a necessity by most people and they provide a means to achieve a level of freedom and convenience to communicate with others from almost anywhere. All that is required is a little common sense around their use and storage to ensure that mobile phone ownership is relatively risk free.