REPORTING lost phones to Harrow police has been made more difficult in an effort to crack down on fraud.

Officers believe they receive hundreds of false claims about missing mobiles each month from people who may have simply given their handsets to friends or family.

A new system of checks has been brought in and police recently received just 100 reports, down from 500 in October.

Mike Long, station manager at Harrow Police Station, said: “We've been receiving an inordinately large number of lost mobile phone reports – an incredibly large number.”

He added: “We are not refusing to take reports of lost mobile phones, but by tightening up the process for reporting, we are ensuring more police time is spent helping genuine victims of crime and with people who really have lost their phones.”

If a phone is lost and no crime has been committed, officers will now only release a reference number, needed to claim from insurance companies, if the phone has already been barred by the network.

They will also demand other details, including the IMEI number and the date the phone was bought, which can be supplied by the service provider.

All report of a lost phone is included in the National Mobile Phone Register, which officers, insurance companies and handset recycling companies can access.

Police point to a recent example of a 15-year-old girl from Northolt, who reported her phone lost at school.

The handset was then taken into a phone recycling shop where it was checked against the database which confirmed it was reported lost.

Officers are now investigating.

Police checklist for lost phones:

  • IMEI number, available from service provider or dial *#06# while you still have the phone
  • The make and model
  • The name of the insurance company
  • Name of the network provider
  • Date it was bought
  • Exact details of how and where it was lost
  • Make sure the phone has been barred