That sounds like an obvious headline, but the major UK operators are stepping up their efforts to stamp out mobile phone theft by cooperating with the UK government to block IMEI numbers of stolen handsets within 48 hours of being reported stolen. The program, run via a Web site called immobilise.com, hoped to cut down on the 2 million device thefts in the UK, a figure which has risen by 8% this past year. Officials hope that being able to block the IMEI will allow them to nab theives who try to Reuse or resell the hot handsets. Of course, they could just swap SIMs to a non-UK network and keep right on going...