Nigerian firm develops application for blocking stolen phones

A Nigerian company -E.F. Network Limited has developed a mobile application that can make a device unusable by thieves, to curb theft or resale of mobile phones and other gadgets in the country.

Mr. Ameh Ochojila, the Company’s public relations officer, who made the disclosure in Abuja yesterday, said that the application named ‘ephonetaxi’ will help provide solutions to the growing number of stolen phones in the country and across the globe.

“The application ‘ephonetaxi’ helps to lock out anyone who is unauthorised to use the phone, making it unusable and unsellable,” he said.

According to him, the application is designed to protect phone owners and the information stored on their phones from being compromised in the event of phone theft.

“The application helps retrieve and send the user’s stored contents to his email.

 “It also locks the phone, prevents either unauthorised access to stored pictures, videos, messages, or contacts of the phone owner.

“The app alerts the phone owner of any change in SIM card, monitors, and tracks the phone location including taking pictures of criminals in possession of the phone and sending the pictures to the email address of the owner,” he said.

Ochojila added: “The owner can do all these remotely in spite of the phone being lost or stolen.

 “Once a phone is locked remotely by the owner, buying it will be a mere waste of money.”

Mr. Kelvin Raymond, the technical manager of the company, said that the application could also be used to trace kidnappers as it can reveal the real-time location of mobile phones.   (Daily Independent)