Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone?...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

Got a hot crime tip? Text the police

Seen a crime and want to report it anonymously? If you’re in the US or Canada, you can now dob people in using SMS, thanks to a new application from mBlox and Anderson Software called TipSoft.

It’s already being used by community action group Crime Stoppers and is already up and running in 16 Canadian cities. Another 32 cities in the US will be deploying the system soon, and after that, the application could be on its way to the UK.

Rather handily, the anonymity is two-way: the tips go from users’ phones and are delivered anonymously and the police can reply back without having access to the phone number of the user who sent in the tip. I wonder how it sits with privacy legislation: if cops really needed to get hold of the tipster, is there any privacy legislation that would block them?

4 COMMENTS

  1. I don't know if I'd recommend anyone use an anonymous crime tip text service that involves mBlox. Unless one wants to report money missing from their phone balance because of unsolicited and misleading premium texts being received!

  2. I don't know if I'd recommend anyone use an anonymous crime tip text service that involves mBlox. Unless one wants to report money missing from their phone balance because of unsolicited and misleading premium texts being received!

  3. I don't know if I'd recommend anyone use an anonymous crime tip text service that involves mBlox. Unless one wants to report money missing from their phone balance because of unsolicited and misleading premium texts being received!

  4. It is great seeing how technology can affect many lives of a person, and Technology can be a very great help or number 1 resources to solve a crime in the society.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an HP LaserJet printer (version 3, if memory serves), I have been printing with an HP. Over the...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone? I'm asking because I'm thinking about what I should be doing. When I was living in Oman, I...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...