[gmokki]

I think he was trying to say that phone theft can benefit the same way as credit card theft. The thief uses the phone to buy stuff before the user reports it stolen. In this case the stuff that is bought is mobile services that are billed for example 100€ for each SMS message. The victims mobile subscription plan gets the bill and the associates of the thief get the money.

[stavros]

Yes, exactly, and the mobile operator takes a cut. I'm afraid I don't have references, I know this because it happened to a friend of mine.

[rkomorn]

Right. I guess the thing is I don't know how one spends 100s on SMS messages.

I guess that also means you either need the SIM card or an unlocked phone?