On an iPhone: Go to icloud. If your cell phone can't be located quickly, use your phone's find my phone feature to remotely lock your phone from any location. Also, be sure to take this opportunity to change the passwords on any accounts you regularly accessed or had an app for on your—especially financial accounts, email, and social media, just in case.
If you've had no luck locating your device, after erasing and locking it remotely, reach out to the carrier for your consumer cellular plan. They can disable service to your phone, and can typically mark the phone itself as unusable even with a new SIM card or new carrier. This not only helps protect you, but someone who may unknowingly purchase a used phone that's been stolen. You may or may not get your phone back, but you could potentially need a police report if you have to protest fraudulent charges made with your device.
Depends on your provider. Asurion offers cell phone insurance that covers not only loss and theft, but protection from everyday mishaps like cracked screen repair and coverage for water damage, with you receiving a replacement device in as little as 24 hours. Read reviews from actual customers we helped recover from lost, stolen and damaged smartphones. Change your passwords for those too. And what about streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu?
On the subject of credit cards, you should call to let your bank know that your phone has been stolen and ask if there has been any recent activity on your card which may not show up on online banking immediately. They may even advise you that you should cancel your existing credit card and get a new one just to be on the safe side. You should also monitor your statements in the days and weeks after your phone goes missing and watch out for any suspicious activity.
Check for any unauthorized activity on your cards, social media accounts, and anything else that could be accessed from your phone. If you have insurance for your phone that protects against loss or theft, then your final step will be trying to retrieve the value of the device itself although sentimental value can never be replaced.
You might have purchased it through your provider when you bought your phone. Or you may have it covered under your home insurance, so check with that provider too. You may be covered, but there is one major stipulation to be eligible for compensation: the Find My iPhone app must be activated at the time of the loss or theft.
This might be found in your phone settings or in your online account, or it might be physically printed on the phone near the battery or SIM or on the original packaging. You can quote this when you file a police report. They can help you in determining whether your device has been stolen or simply lost, give you a better chance of finding your device, and qualify you for certain types of insurance reimbursement.
You might also consider installing an app that takes photos after repeated login attempts. Apps like Lockwatch, Third Eye, and Intruder Selfie will automatically snap a selfie after a specified number of login attempts.
While these are generally more useful for discovering who, if anyone, is snooping on your phone, they can still help deter a thief. Just the fact that the phone starts taking pictures while they try to log in could be enough to get them to discard the device. Plus, some of these apps tag images with a location, so you know roughly where your phone is at the time of a login attempt.
Use a strong password, PIN, or pattern for locking your phone. You may want to go for fingerprint instead of facial recognition though. Fingerprints can be recreated too but may be harder to get hold of than a photo. Note that patterns have been found to be fairly poor options for protecting your device as lurkers could easily view the pattern and recreate it. One study found that a swipe could be recreated almost two-thirds of the time after just looking at it once.
Patterns can also be guessed by looking at fingerprint smudges on the screen. That said, short passwords or PINs can be fairly simple to crack too, so going for a longer one eight digits or more is ideal.
You might consider two-factor authentication for some apps, particularly online banking platforms. With two-factor authentication , a second method of contact may be used to confirm your identity, for example, a code could be sent via email or text. If you have trouble remembering a lot of passwords, you can consider using a password manager. Just make sure you set the password manager app to lock automatically after a short period of time. Otherwise, you could be leaving all of your passwords and an accompanying account list exposed to a thief.
If your phone is gone for good, the loss of the device itself might not be the worst part of the situation. Having to part with all of the information it holds, such as contacts, calendars, photos, and videos, can be heartbreaking. Both Apple and Google offer automatic backup features that are easy to set up.
Backed up your phone but having trouble accessing everything from your device? Some common sense can go a long way when it comes to keeping your information away from prying eyes.
With so many protective measures in place to prevent thieves from actually using a phone, you might wonder what happens to these stolen devices. However, there is still a market for stolen phones , even those that are locked.
The good news is that thieves are typically after the device itself and not the contents of your phone. Devices are often purchased by pawn shops , wireless stores independently-owned , and regular mom-and-pop shops.
Where possible, the thieves themselves or the buyers will replace the SIM card and reprogram the phones. With some devices, people are able to get around locks by performing factory resets or other methods. Or they may just sell them on under the pretense they are unlocked. Other devices are sold for parts, while many end up overseas.
Some devices are worth many times overseas what they would be in, say, the US or the UK. My phone got stolen when I was at work. We have Life on it so we can track it. I lost my phone, then I used the apple track my phone. It was a address I have never been to so I went to the address and the person who answered the door claimed my phone was not there.
What should I do now? A stolen phone is even worse. Not only do you have to deal with the emotional upset, but you have to act quickly to protect yourself. This handy checklist will help you.
As with any crime, you need to report the theft to the police as soon as possible. It may take them hours or even days to begin investigation, but you need to ensure the crime is logged and you obtain a reference number you will need this if you plan to make an insurance claim.
If the thief can log into your phone, they can also access all the information stored on it. They can also access anything you have stored in the cloud iCloud, Google Drive etc. You need to log into the cloud storage website and change your password. This will immediately prevent your stolen phone — and the thief — from connecting. While logged into your online account, you should use the tools provided to lock your device remotely.
This will erase all content from your smartphone and lock the thief out — permanently. If you have a digital wallet set up on your phone Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay etc you will need to contact your bank. They can put a stop on your device to prevent the thief from using your phone to make illegal purchases.
Next, call your mobile network operator to report the loss. They can block your device from the network — and they will also ensure you are not charged for any calls made by the thief using your stolen smartphone. Once you are sure your personal information and payment info is protected, you can give your insurance company a call if you have a policy.
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