U.S. authorities said mobile carriers and phone manufacturers should do more to resolve the rapidly growing smartphone thefts.

In 2012, Washington D.C. alone witnessed a record 1,829 smartphone robberies and nearly half of all thefts in San Francisco involved mobile devices, according to the U.S. police.

The underlying issue is that wireless carriers and smartphone producers are slow to tackle the problem.

A national database tracking stolen devices and iPhone’s location-tracking function for missing phones are not fully used, according to the U.S. security experts.

The carriers are accused of making profits from phone theft as they effectively force victims to buy another product without helping them to find their stolen one.

Experts said handset manufacturers like Apple should explore new technologies to prevent theft.

From news report
(knews@heraldcorp.com)