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Sat 11 Nov 2002Vodafone moves to block calls by phone thievesVodafone Ireland will block stolen mobile phone handsets from making or receiving calls on its network from the start of December in an effort to reduce mobile phone crime. The block will start once the handset is reported stolen.The firm, which has 1.7 million Irish subscribers, is also linking its new anti-theft system to a central equipment identity register that should eventually prevent stolen handsets from being used on all Europe's mobile phone networks. Vodafone's system works by logging a handset's international mobile equipment identifier - a unique number given to every mobile - when a handset is reported stolen. It is then able to block that handset from accessing its mobile network to make or receive telephone calls.