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As far as I know, Swiss border police/customs officers (which often operate at random places in the country, not necessarily at the border) are not allowed to c
by smoe 10y ago
As far as I know, Swiss border police/customs officers (which often operate at random places in the country, not necessarily at the border) are not allowed to check the content of any electronic device without a search warrant.
They can ask you to unlock the phone and show the IMEI number when suspicious of theft, but that's about it.
Source: friend of mine worked there.
- mschuster91 10y agoWith phones without sealed batteries, the IMEI(s) are usually printed on a sticker in the battery compartment. Samsung and Apple engrave the IMEI on the outer casing of sealed devices. Always know where the manufacturer printed the IMEI, so you don't have to unlock the phone in front of police.
- angry_octet 10y agoOf course, if you give them the IMEI it facilitates them listening to your phone calls and tracking your location. The 'checking for stolen phones' thing seems totally implausible to me.
- jsmthrowaway 10y agoI'm intrigued that you think that requires an IMEI.
- angry_octet 10y agoIt doesn't require it, but it helps. The IMEI gives away information like manufacturer, device model and rev, and persists across changes in SIM.
- kbart 10y agoIMEI is sent when you register to operator's network, so you get that kind of information anyway. Asking for IMEI at the border links person to a physical device so you have a complete set for tracking.
- angry_octet 10y agoThe point is that the problem "Listen to Ms Jane Robert's phone calls" goes from "Of all phones on the network, identify Ms Jane Robert's" to "Ms Jane Roberts has a phone with IMEI xxxx, log all traffic for all SIM identities; prepare implant for LG G5 sold with Vodafone config."
- mschuster91 10y agoIt's quite effective, tbh. Stealing phones is still a way to net loads of money if you know a buyer who doesn't give a damn about the source. Hard-reset the phone so it appears clean and off you go. The only vendor that actively prevents the usage of stolen phones is Apple, because the owner can remote-lock it even if the phone gets wiped via iCloud. The ideal way would be if network operators cooperated by maintaining a list of "supposedly stolen" IMEI codes and alerted police if a matching phone tries to log in into the network.
- angry_octet 10y agoNone of the carriers cooperate across borders! The phones that can't just be flashed with a new IMEI are rebirthed overseas.