How many mobile devices are stolen every day? It seems like we can't go a week without hearing about someone losing their smartphone to theft or a simple pickpocket. Beyond the financial cost of replacing it, there's a more serious issue: the enormous amount of personal information that a thief could access.
Anthony van der Meer decided to turn this against the thieves. He let a phone equipped with special software be stolen, and what he learned in just a few days became the basis for the documentary Find my Phone.
The Limits of Tracking Technology
There are various mechanisms to track a stolen phone, but they're often easy to bypass. All a thief has to do is keep the device off, perform a reset at the right moment, and clone the IMEI to get back on the mobile network. Alternatively, the device might be disassembled and sold for parts, especially if it's a hot item. However, a stolen phone also presents a unique opportunity for someone willing to seize it. With the right settings, it's possible to trace the entire journey of the device and learn more about the thief…
The Bait Phone Experiment
That's exactly what Anthony van der Meer did. After his iPhone was stolen and the tracking feature proved useless, he created a documentary called Find my Phone. He took an HTC phone, installed the anti-theft app Cerberus (which sits in the system section and prevents data wiping during a reset), and set it up as bait, waiting for a thief to take it. After 'tempting' several people in a shopping mall, the phone was finally stolen on the metro as van der Meer was heading home.
What Did He Learn?
What did he find out about the thief? Well, I think the best thing is to watch the whole documentary. It lasts just over twenty minutes and has Spanish subtitles (which must be manually enabled). But what van der Meer manages to confirm with his work is that creativity can emerge from the most unexpected situations. Generally, smartphone theft is a traumatic experience for the victim, and I'm not referring to the ever-present risk of physical attack. Some users feel great anxiety upon losing their phones and need to make things right as soon as possible. In the case of Find my Phone, it only makes the story more interesting.
