Outsmarting the outlaws: as cell phone thefts soar, lawmakers look for ways to protect consumers and thwart the thieves.

• Author: Bourquard, Jo Anne
• Position: TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Property crimes may be down, but smartphone thefts are escalating, say law enforcement officials. This is particularly true in large cities, where about 40 percent of robberies involve the theft of a mobile phone, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports. Consumer Reports recently disclosed that cell phone thefts nearly doubled last year, increasing from 1.6 million stolen phones in 2012 to 3.1 million in 2013.

People talking on their phones in public, inattentive to their surroundings, make easy targets for thieves, who are after the wealth of personal financial data contained on the phones and the high resale value phones fetch on the international black market.

A recent study by Creighton University found 145 million Americans currently have smartphones, and they spend about $4.8 billion a year on cell phone insurance and another $580 million replacing stolen phones.

The survey of 1,200 smartphone users in February 2014 indicated overwhelming support (99 percent) for giving consumers the option of disabling their lost cell phones. The study estimates consumers could save about $2.6 billion a year if cell phones came with "kill switches."

What's a Kill Switch?

Kill switch software allows the smartphone to be made inoperable after it is reported stolen by wiping out just about everything on the phone--contacts, photos, emails sent and received, and other information--and locking it, preventing the phone from being reactivated without an authorized user's consent and password.

Many believe this technology is the best way to thwart the thieves. Lawmakers in California and Minnesota debated bills this year to require the use of a kill switch or other technology to disable stolen phones.

Kill switch legislation also has been introduced in at least three other states--Illinois, New York and Rhode Island. In addition, pending legislation in New York prohibits wireless phone providers from activating mobile telephones belonging to another owner unless authorized to do so.

"One of the top catalysts for street crime in many California cities is smartphone theft, and these crimes are becoming increasingly violent," says California Senator Mark Leno (D). He believes kill switch technology is capable of stopping "cell phone thieves in their tracks."

The California Senate passed legislation in early May that requires all smartphones sold in the state to come pre-equipped with theft-deterring technological solutions to render the device...