Government campaigns against mobile phone theft

The Government is launching a national campaign which will tap into the social networking phenomenon in an effort to eliminate mobile phone crime.

The £500,000 campaign, primarily aimed at 16-25 year olds, is being unveiled by Home Office minister Baroness Scotland and its central message is that buying a stolen mobile phone is a waste of time.

The adverts will run across magazines including Heat, Zoo and Nuts, as well as popular websites Loot, Gumtree and Ebay. The message will also be emblazoned on litter bins and phone boxes.

The adverts will use text language and play on the trend for making pictures from punctuation and distributing them via mobile and social networking sites like Facebook. The government’s message is that because the mobile phone industry blocks stolen phones within 48 hours, buying one is a waste of time.