Major U.S. wireless service companies have agreed to disable cellphones after they are reported stolen in a strategy to deter the theft and resale of wireless devices.

The system announced Tuesday relies on a centralized database that will enable providers to recognize when a phone has been reported as stolen and prevent it from being used again.

Major U.S. cities have been reporting increases in smartphone thefts as criminals steal devices to resell, sometimes overseas. Officials say cellphones are now taken in 38 percent of robberies in Washington and more than 40 percent of robberies in New York City.

Major cellphone carriers covering roughly 90 percent of U.S. subscribers are participating in the new system, said Chris Guttman-McCabe of CTIA-The Wireless Association, an organization representing the wireless communications industry. Participating carriers include AT&T Inc., T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Nex-Tech.

The database will record unique identifying numbers of stolen cellphones. Carriers that receive a report of a stolen device would use the database to shut down the device before it can be reactivated by another user. Officials hope the database will be running within six months, and that the system will be rolled out globally over 18 months

"What we're announcing here today will make a stolen cellphone about as worthless as an empty wallet," said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who called smartphones "catnip for criminals" because they're valuable, exposed and easy to steal.

The Federal Communications Commission said smartphone manufacturers will also implement automatic prompts that encourage users to lock their devices with a password.