The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is clamping down on this problem and hope to put an end to this crime wave real soon.

If you carry a smartphone keep that baby under lock-n-key til the FCC gets this under control because it has become a great gift to the thief and even the purse snatcher among others.

It's all about the 'Black Market' which is a scary thing because one can make lots of money supplying that avenue with stolen product. Thefts of the smartphone are the biggest in some time, so be be warned.

The FCC and wireless carriers whatever they can to make your smartphone worthless so as to deter the thefts of these precious items. I mean think about it today one almost seems lost without it.

An Expert in the industry is quoted as saying, "We want to dry up the aftermarket. Hopefully, there will be no sense in stealing a phone and a once valuable piece of hardware will essentially turn into useless metal."

The idea is to cripple the phone after it's been stolen. On my phone I use an app called "Lockout" which is handy for a lost device because it has the ability to create a "scream" that gets louder and louder if your device is nearby even if it's on silent.

Also if lost there is a "lock" feature to remotely lock it to keep personal info safe.
For an extra fee you can install what's called "wipe" that will clear your messages, photos and data from a lost phone.

It's a start to help protect your phone while in some unathorized hands, essentially it becomes worthless to the theft because he/she then thinks the phone is junk.

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