Intelligent Phone Theft Mitigation System Using Imeic and Geofencing Techniques

This study addressed the growing problem of mobile phone theft by developing an intelligent tracking system that utilizes the International Mobile Equipment Identity Code (IMEIC) and geofencing techniques. The system was designed to accurately identify and locate lost or stolen mobile devices in real time by combining hardware-level identification with geographic boundary enforcement. The IMEIC served as a unique fingerprint for each phone, allowing the system to trace the device across different networks regardless of changes in SIM cards or user accounts. Geofencing was employed to create virtual boundaries, enabling the system to monitor whether the device remained within a defined safe zone or had crossed into unauthorized areas. Once the IMEIC was submitted through a user-friendly web interface, the system retrieved the latest known location of the phone based on latitude and longitude data and plotted the results on Google Maps. This allowed the user to visually track the device’s location and receive timely alerts, even via an alternative phone number. The system’s performance was evaluated using classification metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score, along