14 DAY TRIAL // According to a recent post on the CheckMEND blog, approximately ?5 billion worth of stolen goods are available for purchase at online stores at any moment in the UK. Moreover, it appears that two items are being reported stolen every minute. These numbers were released by a company that specializes in identifying stolen goods found on the Internet, meaning, by the aforementioned source.
CheckMEND is a brand name of the Recipero Limited company, which was released in 2006. Because it can access UK's largest database of stolen goods and blocked mobile phones, it is able to provide users with reliable info about second-hand products. The 30 million entries, found in CheckMEND's database, are said to be well organized, providing users with a reliable tool of information. The company's database is said to be a reliable source of information, used even by the UK police. These numbers made ebay UK recommend CheckMEND for checking mobile phones before purchase.
It appears that the number of stolen goods, available for purchase on the Internet, is increasing by day. This is what CheckMEND tries to prevent, encouraging its users to check any second hand product before purchase. This way, vendors who can prove the product is legit will have an advantage over those who try to sell stolen goods. This will also improve the quality of the second hand market found online. Most of the stolen goods, which are being purchased by unaware customers, are blocked mobile phones.
As stated on the CheckMEND blog, there is a study released by the Design Council and according to which one in eight children, with ages between 11 to 16, has fallen a victim to purchasing a stolen product, and all that just over the past three years. One comment from a user, which was victim of an ebay scam regarding a stolen phone, encouraged users to use CheckMEND before purchasing a second hand product. The service isn't free, as a CheckMEND report will cost you ?2.99, which shouldn't be considered that high since one such report can spare you of future problems.
The service, which at this point is only available in the UK, is expected to go online for US users on 12th of June 2008.