By L.K. HEWLETT
St. Kitts Reporter
A recent spate of cell phone robberies has left some persons uneasy about using their mobile phones in public. When persons show reluctance to release their high-end handsets, the crooks have resorted to using guns and physical force in order to scare persons into relinquishing their phones.
Mobile phone models such as the Motorola Razrs, Krazrs, Pebls, Sony Ericsson Walkman phones, LG Chocolates and a few others of the sleeker and most recent styles seem to be the more targeted handsets. The retail prices on these handsets can range anywhere between EC$800 and $1500 locally.
A top official at Digicel, one of the leading mobile service providers in the Caribbean said that persons who had been robbed of their phones should report the incident to the company immediately, especially in the case of post paid customers.
“If you are unfortunate enough to be robbed of your phone, the best thing to do is to alert the authorities, even if you think no one cares because it’s just a phone. A robbery is a robbery. Although you may have paid a lot of money for your phone, it is always advisable to protect life over material things. Report thefts or losses to your provider. In the case of Digicel we immediately shut off service to that number to prevent anyone else incurring charges on your bill in the case of post-paid customers. Prepaid customers should report the loss as well, because we can tell how much credit was on the account and restore it after we replace the Sim card,” he said.
He also explained that whether a phone is stolen or lost, Sim cards could be replaced and the person could retain the same telephone number. The Sim card that was lost or stolen which held the account information and credit would have been rendered useless to the thief. He also warned persons against buying phones from persons who had no proof of ownership to prevent themselves from becoming involved in a crime.
“Sadly we live in a world where people prefer to steal others property instead of earning them the old fashioned way. One cannot help being seen using mobile phones, because they are just that… mobile. The main purpose of owning a cell phone is the convenience of having access to a phone when away from a landline; so using it in public would be unavoidable. However, to avoid being a target, keep phones in pockets or bags when they are not in use. When in a crowd, don’t have your cell phone clipped to the waist or on other pieces of clothing or have it hanging from a strap around the neck, that makes it easy for persons to see what type of phone you have and makes it easy for crooks to snatch it off your person,” he explained.
Police advise that all such incidents be reported especially since robbery, which refers to stealing using force or threat to life, carries harsher penalties than larceny.
