Check For Stolen Property
The CheckMEND system, which has been endorsed by police, contains a 'hot-list' of 3.8 million stolen items, worth more than £570 million.
See also...
• Copyright row breaks out over Google's plan to put books online
With on-line auction sites continuing to grow in popularity, the CheckMEND database allows internet shoppers to check whether the goods they are purchasing are reported stolen.
It can also be used by anyone buying second-hand goods from a car boot sale, in the pub or from a street market.
Consumers can search the database either on the internet, or by text message.
It contains details of a vast array of different stolen items, including iPods, laptops, games consoles, bicycles and satellite navigation systems.
Mobile phones are the most common item on the database, with details of all the stolen and blocked mobiles reported to the UK networks now listed.
Checks can be carried out to see if a product is stolen by entering its serial or identification number, or, in the case of mobiles, its unique IMEI number.
The database is able to tell within seconds whether the item is reported stolen and, in the case of mobile phones, if the phone has been barred in the UK or re-programmed.
Sellers on auction websites can also carry out checks before they offer an item for sale, and then sell the item with a CheckMEND certificate.
The system is linked to the databases of police forces, mobile phone companies and contents insurers and is added to, and updated, on a daily basis.
The data is used by 46 UK police forces and Revenue and Customs.
A search on CheckMEND costs £1.50 by text or between £1 and £2.99 online.
The system is a partner of the property ownership registration service, www.immobilise.com, which has 13.8 million members in the UK with £2.7 billion worth of items registered.
CheckMEND is a publicly-accessible version of a system already used by police.
It is estimated that forces across the UK make 10,000 to 15,000 checks on their own, more detailed, version of the system each week.
The system has been created by the IT company Recipero. Adrian Portlock, managing director, said: 'Due to the growing popularity of online auction sites, more and more people are now buying and selling goods 'second hand'.
'It has created a world where the buyer rarely sees the seller's face. This has been an ideal scenario for criminals, who can sell stolen goods without being identified.
'CheckMEND will give the buyer piece of mind that they are buying a legitimate product.'
Andrew Harrison, chief executive of The Carphone Warehouse, said: 'The launch of CheckMEND is fantastic news as it will take away the appeal of stealing handsets.
'As an industry, it is vital for us to take active steps to help reduce mobile phone crime. We will get behind and promote CheckMEND as well as using the system within our organisation to help reduce fraud.'
Jack Wraith, from the Mobile Industry Crime Action Forum, added that if all the second-hand phones were checked before being purchased, and subsequently not bought, then this would equate to approximately £50 million taken out of the pockets of criminals.
The website address is www.checkmend.org.
Police are teaming up with pawn shops using the Internet to make tracking down stolen merchandise easier to find.
By Stephen McLamb
December 25, 2012
MARSHALL COUNTY, AL (WAFF) – If someone steals your Christmas presents, the chances getting them back are better than they used to be.
Police are teaming up with pawn shops using the internet to make tracking down stolen merchandise easier to find.
It's pretty simple.
Pawn shops use an online database with serial numbers for incoming merchandise. Law enforcement has access to the database and can check for a match nationwide.
Pawn shops and law enforcement are teaming up on the World Wide Web to help stop stolen merchandise from getting to pawn shops and the cash that's going into the thieves' hands.
More and more agencies are subscribing to LeadsOnline.com, a subscription based company that tracks pawn shop receivables.
In years past, law enforcement would have to physically check inventory taken in by pawn shops then check against recent stolen property reports to see if there is a match. Now, they use this nationwide database.
'We turn in all our pawn tickets and all our purchase tickets. If you come in and pawn or sell something today, it will be downloaded to that tonight. Local police jurisdictions have access to that 24/7,' said Joe Campbell, owner of Joe's Pawn Shop.
Campbell urges people to know what the serial numbers are of their products so that a direct match can be made.