Patent ID: 8483663

Claim:
Non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, that, when executed by a computing device, facilitate a method of reducing mobile-phone fraud, the method comprising: determining that a mobile device is lost or stolen; deactivating the determined lost or stolen mobile device, wherein deactivating prevents the determined lost or stolen mobile device from communicating via a wireless-telecommunications network; receiving a request to activate the determined lost or stolen mobile device from the determined lost or stolen mobile device; upon receiving the request to activate from the determined lost or stolen mobile device, communicating to the determined lost or stolen mobile device activation data, which enables the mobile device to communicate via a wireless-telecommunications network; and communicating to the mobile device functionality-impairment instructions, which, when run on the mobile device, deliberately disable a set of functional aspects of the mobile device thereby transforming the mobile device from a first state to a second state and wherein the second state is functionally impaired as compared to the first state.