Today Date: 17th September 2026
The mobile phone, once conceived as a simple communication device, has evolved into a powerful digital tool integrating voice and text communication, internet access, financial services, social media, and location-based applications. Especially in urban areas, it has become an indispensable part of daily life, with many individuals carrying one or even multiple handsets, often equipped with more than one SIM card. This rapid technological evolution has transformed societies in many positive ways; however, it has also created new avenues for criminal activity. Across the world, including Bangladesh, mobile phones have increasingly become both tools and facilitators of crime, reshaping the nature, scale, and impact of both traditional and emerging offence
It is often remarked, both colloquially and in policy discussions, that Bangladesh has more mobile phones than toilets. Although rhetorical, the statement reflects the reality of rapid mobile penetration across the country. In major urban centres, mobile phone usage is nearly universal, cutting across economic and social classes, while in rural areas, it is common for households to own multiple devices despite limited access to basic sanitation. This contrast underscores the uneven nature of development, where digital connectivity has expanded far more rapidly than essential infrastructure.
The contemporary world increasingly resides within the mobile phone. When an undergraduate student was asked by her father about no books on the study table or bookshelf, she responded with confidence that she no longer needed them, as her mobile phone provided access to all necessary academic resources. Through a single device, she could consult digital libraries, receive reading materials shared by her teachers via various applications, and participate in online classes through a digital app. These classes can be attended from virtually any location, as long as she has access to her mobile device and an internet connection. Recognizing this transformation in learning practices and the centrality of mobile technology in modern education, the father remained composed, acknowledging the changing realities of knowledge acquisition and academic engagement.
A middle-aged man travelling a long distance on an intercity cabin train observed, with a sense of quiet astonishment, that nearly all his fellow passengers remained absorbed in the screens of their mobile phones throughout the journey. Among them, an elderly man was using a mobile application to count zikir, while another passenger was reading the Holy Qur’an on his device. One reassuring aspect of this scene was that some passengers were listening to music through cordless earphones, discreetly fitted in their ears, thereby ensuring that their personal entertainment did not disturb others. This small yet considerate use of technology reflected an emerging awareness of shared public space, where individual digital engagement can coexist with respect for those nearby.
The scene vividly illustrated how mobile technology has permeated even the most traditional and contemplative practices of life. With access to mobile data or an internet connection, individuals are instantly linked to a vast and unregulated digital sphere, one that blends devotion, knowledge, distraction, and disorder in equal measure. The irony of this transformation is striking, and, in its own way, quietly amusing.
The widespread availability and affordability of mobile phones have made them central to communication, financial transactions, and social interaction. At the same time, near-universal dependence on mobile devices has heightened societal vulnerability to mobile-enabled crimes. This reality reinforces the need to view mobile phones not merely as communication tools but as critical assets that require appropriate protection, regulation, and informed use.
Globally, law enforcement agencies identify mobile phones as central instruments in a wide spectrum of offences. These offences are not confined to cybercrime alone but extend into conventional crimes that are now technologically enabled.
Fraud and Financial Crimes
Mobile-based fraud has become one of the most pervasive forms of financial crime globally, driven by the misuse of voice calls, SMS, messaging platforms, and call-spoofing technologies to facilitate identity theft, phishing, impersonation, mobile banking fraud, fake investment schemes, and digital payment scams. The transnational character of these offences frequently complicates investigation and prosecution, requiring enhanced cross-border cooperation. In Bangladesh, similar trends are evident in the widespread abuse of mobile financial services (MFS), where fraudsters disproportionately target vulnerable users through deceptive calls and messages promising jobs, lottery winnings, emergency support, or online purchases that demand advance digital payments. Law enforcement records show that impersonation of service providers or government officials remains a dominant tactic, often resulting in unauthorized fund transfers. The Bangladesh Police and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) crackdowns have further revealed organized groups operating from urban and semi-urban areas, relying almost entirely on mobile communication to victimize individuals across multiple districts.
At the same time, the rapid expansion of MFS has outpaced the digital literacy of many users, significantly increasing exposure to fraud and financial loss. Common schemes include extracting PINs or one-time passwords by posing as service officials, manipulating victims through fabricated “mistaken transfer” messages, and SIM-swapping attacks that allow criminals to reset account credentials and empty balances. These risks are compounded by social engineering and human error, such as hurried decisions or incorrect transfers, particularly because MFS transactions are typically instantaneous and difficult to reverse, leaving victims with limited avenues for recovery.
Harassment and Stalking
Harassment, stalking, and extortion facilitated through mobile phones have emerged as interconnected global challenges, with women and young people disproportionately affected, raising serious concerns about digital safety, rights, and psychological harm. Worldwide, offenders exploit calls, messages, and social media–linked messaging applications to engage in persistent harassment, digital blackmail, and coercion, often misusing personal images, recorded calls, or private information to intimidate victims and blur the boundary between physical and psychological violence. In Bangladesh, a growing number of such cases have been reported, particularly in Dhaka and other metropolitan areas, involving prolonged harassment, sextortion, and extortion that cause severe mental distress across social strata. Investigations reveal that perpetrators frequently use multiple SIM cards, spoofed numbers, and diverse messaging platforms to evade detection, while local criminal gangs have also resorted to threatening calls and messages to demand money, sometimes leveraging information sourced from social media or prior contact. Law enforcement responses increasingly rely on call detail records (CDRs) and mobile tower location analysis, underscoring both the evidentiary value of mobile data and the continuing regulatory and enforcement challenges in addressing these forms of digital coercion.
Police in Jashore, for example, arrested a man and recovered a large number of Indian SIM cards and related equipment that were allegedly being used to send threatening messages to judges and prosecutors of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). In the operation, law enforcement detained 32-year-old Bablu Hosen and seized a laptop, 317 Indian SIM cards, two Bangladeshi SIMs, and a Voice over IP (VOIP) device from his possession during the raid in Jashore city. The arrest was made on allegations that these SIMs and devices were being used to issue threats against ICT judges and prosecutors, and the case was taken up by local authorities for further investigation and legal action.
In Dhaka city, there has been a noticeable rise in the snatching of mobile phones by street-level criminals, with a particular focus on high-end smartphones, especially iPhones, due to their high resale value. Stolen devices are either sold through informal local markets or trafficked across borders into neighbouring countries. Once a handset is operated outside Bangladesh, its IMEI-based tracking becomes ineffective for domestic law enforcement agencies, creating a strong incentive for cross-border smuggling. The extortionists are also tactically adept, often removing the SIM card immediately to prevent identification and tracking. This dynamic has contributed to the emergence of a well-organized illicit market for stolen mobile phones in major cities.
Similarly, there are documented cases in which mobile phones reported lost or stolen in neighbouring countries later surfaced in Bangladeshi markets; however, investigations often stalled at an advanced stage because the devices had passed through multiple intermediaries, making it extremely difficult to identify the original perpetrators.
Organized Crime and Criminal Networking
Globally, organized criminal groups increasingly rely on encrypted mobile communication to coordinate illicit activities, including drug and human trafficking, arms smuggling, and contract crimes. Mobile phones are widely used by local criminal gangs for coordination, surveillance, and evasion of law enforcement. Encrypted calls, messaging applications, and rapid information sharing enable swift planning and execution of offences, posing significant challenges to policing. In response, international law enforcement agencies have placed growing emphasis on lawful interception, digital forensics, and intelligence-led investigations to disrupt organized and networked criminal activity.
Extortion
Organised crime syndicates have increasingly used overseas trafficking as a tool of extortion, particularly in parts of Africa and the Middle East. Victims are subjected to forced labour or confined in secret locations, where staged or real acts of physical abuse are recorded on mobile phones. These videos are then sent to families in Bangladesh, often accompanied by desperate pleas from the victims themselves, compelling relatives to pay ransom to local agents. Such operations typically involve collaboration between traffickers, intermediaries in Bangladesh, and local accomplices in the host countries.
Incitement, Misinformation, and Public Disorder
Mobile phones have become powerful tools for the rapid dissemination of misinformation, rumours, and incendiary content, a phenomenon that has been linked internationally to social unrest, communal violence, and political instability. Bangladesh has faced similar challenges, with incidents in which false or manipulated mobile-based content spread through messaging applications, triggering public panic, mob violence, and communal tension. Investigations show that such rumours often originate from a limited number of sources but escalate quickly due to high mobile penetration and rapid peer-to-peer sharing, underscoring the significant role of mobile communication in amplifying misinformation and public disorder.
In recent years, especially during 2024–2025, mobile phones in Bangladesh have increasingly facilitated the rapid spread of misinformation through social media and messaging platforms, particularly on political and religious issues. Fact-checking bodies have recorded a significant rise in false and provocative content, much of which spreads faster than official responses. In several cases, rumours circulated via mobile phones have triggered public panic, tension, and even mob violence, highlighting how digital falsehoods can quickly translate into real-world disorder. These developments have compelled authorities to strengthen rumour-monitoring and cyber oversight mechanisms, reflecting the growing challenge that mobile-enabled misinformation poses to social stability and public order in Bangladesh.
Facilitation of Conventional Crimes
Mobile phones now occupy a central and paradoxical position in contemporary crime dynamics. On the one hand, they are frequently used to plan, execute, and conceal conventional offences such as theft, robbery, kidnapping, and homicide, enabling offenders to communicate discreetly and coordinate actions with speed and anonymity. On the other hand, the same devices generate extensive digital footprints—call records, location data, message logs, and metadata—that have become indispensable to modern criminal investigations. In numerous high-profile cases involving murder and kidnapping, mobile phone evidence has played a decisive role in reconstructing timelines, tracing movements, and establishing links between offenders and victims. This thematic duality highlights mobile phones as both instruments that facilitate crime and powerful sources of evidence that increasingly strengthen investigative and prosecutorial capacities.
Impact on Individuals, Society, and the State
Victims of mobile-enabled offences suffer financial losses, emotional trauma, reputational harm, and erosion of personal security. The intrusive nature of mobile communication means that victimization often extends into private spaces, intensifying psychological impact and creating a persistent sense of vulnerability and insecurity.
A highly placed lady became the victim of a robbery in which her expensive iPhone was stolen. She was deeply distressed, not merely because of the material loss, but because the device contained irreplaceable personal data. The phone stored valuable information and cherished family photographs—digital mementos capturing intimate moments of her life. The loss of these memories, which could not be recovered by any means, caused her profound emotional anguish. In a similar incident, the smartphone of a senior secretary was snatched. The device contained important personal materials that were impossible to retrieve, leaving him deeply upset by the loss.
These incidents illustrate that mobile phone snatching causes harm far beyond financial damage. It often inflicts significant psychological trauma by depriving victims of personal histories, sensitive information, and emotional attachments embedded in digital devices.
Institutional factors further compound the problem. Law enforcement officials are often reluctant to register First Information Reports (FIRs) for mobile phone snatching—an offence clearly punishable under the Penal Code—partly due to concerns that an increase in registered cases may adversely affect crime statistics and perceived station performance. As a result, despite the prevalence of mobile phone snatching on the streets of Dhaka, a significant number of incidents remain unreported, leading to an underestimation of the scale of the crime and weakening both deterrence and accountability mechanisms.
The overuse of mobile phones poses growing health hazards, affecting both physical and mental well-being. Prolonged screen exposure strains the eyes, disrupts sleep patterns through interference with blue light and natural circadian rhythms, and contributes to headaches and fatigue. Excessive phone use is also linked to poor posture, leading to neck and spinal problems often described as “text neck,” along with repetitive strain injuries in the hands and wrists. Beyond physical effects, constant connectivity can increase stress, anxiety, attention disorders, and social isolation, particularly when virtual interactions replace real-life communication. For children and adolescents, overuse may impair concentration, learning habits, and emotional development. Taken together, these risks highlight the importance of balanced and mindful mobile phone use, along with digital hygiene practices, to protect long-term health in an increasingly mobile-dependent world.
In many households, mobile phones have gradually become a readily available source of entertainment for people of all ages, including very young children. From the ground reality, it is often seen that a mother, in the course of managing multiple household responsibilities, allows her six- or seven-year-old child to play games or watch videos on her mobile phone while feeding him, as it makes the task easier and keeps the child calm. Over time, this practice turns into a routine, and the child begins to spend most of his time at home engaged with the mobile phone. Gradually, the screen becomes his primary source of amusement, leading to excessive dependence and, eventually, addiction. Prolonged and unsupervised screen exposure at such a young age can have serious consequences, and in many cases, the child starts developing vision-related problems, such as myopia. When taken to an eye specialist, the condition is diagnosed, and corrective glasses are prescribed. As a result, the child becomes dependent on spectacles at an early age and struggles to see clearly without them, highlighting the hidden but serious health costs of unchecked mobile phone use in early childhood.
Mobile phones now occupy a prominent place in shopping malls and commercial centres, with a large number of people directly engaged in the sale and distribution of handsets. Over time, however, segments of this growing market have also developed informal syndicates to protect and promote their collective business interests. Against this backdrop, the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) has been introduced as a regulatory mechanism that links a mobile phone’s IMEI number with its registration status to block unregistered, stolen, or illegally imported devices from accessing Bangladesh’s mobile networks. The system is intended to enhance telecom security, protect government revenue, and bring greater formalisation and accountability to the handset market. From a governance standpoint, NEIR is a technically robust and internationally aligned regulatory tool. This was resisted by the traders on the grounds of abrupt regulatory shocks, potential loss of livelihoods, and perceptions of uneven enforcement.
Impact on the State and Governance
For the state, mobile-enabled offences pose complex challenges to law enforcement, judicial processes, and regulatory frameworks, requiring sustained investment in digital policing, forensic expertise, legal reform, and effective inter-agency coordination. Law enforcement agencies must continually adapt to rapid technological changes while balancing lawful surveillance with privacy protections. In Bangladesh, persistent capacity gaps in digital forensics, coordination with service providers, and legal harmonization remain critical concerns. Failure to address these challenges effectively risks undermining public confidence in governance and the rule of law.
Legal and Policy Implications
The rapid growth of mobile phone–enabled offences, both globally and in Bangladesh, highlights the need for adaptive legal and policy frameworks that effectively recognize and manage digital evidence, regulate data use, ensure accountability, and safeguard fundamental rights without overreach. In Bangladesh, while existing laws addressing digital offences provide an important foundation, their effectiveness depends on strengthened institutional and investigative capacity, improved judicial understanding of digital evidence, enhanced cooperation with service providers, and greater public awareness. Alongside enforcement and punitive measures, preventive strategies—particularly digital literacy initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and the promotion of ethical digital practices—are essential to mitigating mobile-enabled crimes sustainably.
The commission of offences using mobile phones represents a defining challenge of contemporary criminal justice systems. While the mobile phone has empowered individuals and accelerated development, its misuse has introduced complex, evolving forms of crime. Addressing this challenge requires a holistic approach that integrates law enforcement capability, legal reform, technological adaptation, and societal awareness. Only through such a balanced and forward-looking strategy can societies—globally and in Bangladesh—harness the benefits of mobile technology while mitigating its criminal misuse.
Md. Motiar Rahman