The telco says emergency calls from public phones have risen by about 20 per cent, and the anonymity they provide for people experiencing mental health crises and domestic violence could be a driving factor.

A joint law enforcement operation has dismantled an international criminal network that used the iServer automated phishing-as-a-service platform to unlock the stolen or lost mobile phones of 483,000 victims worldwide.

If you were ever intrigued by how criminals unlocked your smartphone after its theft, the iServer network was the answer in nearly half a million cases—until Europol stepped in.

Criminals used the iServer platform to unlock and fully take over stolen smartphones. But last week, police in several countries helped shut it down.