Losing your smartphone or having it stolen is quite a stressful experience. After all, you have stored all your personal information on it. However, acting quickly and following the steps below can increase your chances of recovering your lost phone. So, if your mobile phone is stolen, don’t waste much time, and take the steps below. It will protect your data from being misused by hackers/criminals.

How to Find My Lost Mobile Phone?

As soon as you lose your phone, the first thought that comes to your mind is – can I find my lost mobile phone? The answer is YES if it has gone missing. You can trace it and recover it. To do so, you need to follow the steps below.

•   Call on your mobile device to see if someone answers it.
•   Use the Finder app to track the phone’s location. For example, if you are using an iPhone, use the “Find My” app. These apps play a loud alarm if the smartphone is nearby.
•   Another thing you can do is lock your phone. This means no third party can access your phone, but your phone displays a custom message with your contact details.

If any good person gets your smartphone, there is a chance that it will give you your phone back. Track your phone, and if it is in a familiar location, you can go to that place and pick it up. However, if your phone’s location changes frequently and you are calling repeatedly and no one is answering, your phone might be stolen. In such a case, you can contact local authorities to help you find your phone.

What should I do if I lose my mobile phone?

Having your mobile device is nerve-wracking. You’ve tried your best to track your phone but have had no luck, then you should follow the below steps to protect your sensitive information. Therefore, no further implications occur.

Call Service Provider

Once you realize that you’ve lost your phone, one entity to whom you should immediately inform is your service provider. Therefore, they can deactivate your phone’s SIM card to prevent any malicious activity.

Call Your Bank

If you use banking apps to manage your financial affairs, call your bank immediately so that no third parties can access these apps/accounts on your phone. Banks can help you track and monitor any suspicious activities and even advise you what to do if such activities occur.

Block Your Credit/Debit Cards/Phone Wallets

Do you use Apple Pay or Google Pay? Anyone can use the cards stored on the device if your phone is stolen. So, call your bank to block all your credit/debit/phone wallets and even cancel them if any fraudulent activities already occurred. Once all your cards are blocked, you must monitor these accounts for any unexpected transactions/charges.

Alert Your Contacts

Notify all your contacts, friends and family members that your phone is missing/stolen so that these people do not have to deal with potential attacks from the scammers.

Remotely Erase All Data From Your Phone

If you’re sure that your phone is stolen, remotely delete data from your device to keep all the information safe and sound. Thieves may swipe your SIM card or make it hard for you to wipe your device if you deal with it.

If you’ve an iPhone, you can remotely erase data by following the below steps.

•   Visit https://icloud.com/find and log into your iCloud account.
•   Now, click on All Devices -> Select the iPhone you want to erase.
•   Choose Erase iPhone.

Using an Android phone? Here is how you can remotely erase all data

•   Visit https://android.com/find using another device.
•   Log into your Google account.
•   You’ll see Erase Device on the left-hand menu.

Change Passwords

Reset all the passwords that you’ve stored on the device. It incorporates PINs, social media account passwords, banking app passwords, email passwords, etc. You should also change the password of an eCommerce platform like Amazon or a streaming service like Netflix. If you use the password manager, change the master password, too. 

Contact Insurance Provider

Once you realize your phone is stolen, “I’ve to buy the new phone” is another thought that comes to your mind. However, replacing your stolen phone with the best smartphone is quite expensive these days. Some phones, like Apple, Samsung, etc., offer insurance coverage. Therefore, if you feel there is a chance that the insurance policy can cover your missing or stolen phone, contact your insurance provider and check whether or not they can help you with replacement or offset the cost.

All Is Not Lost Yet!

The loss or theft of a mobile phone creates inconvenience and a significant threat to the individual’s security and privacy. However, you can proactively reassure yourself and prepare for the worst case. Putting the above-discussed best practices into practice, you can protect your stolen or lost phone from bad actors’ hands and safeguard your sensitive information. Remember, you have plenty of options to recover your data/lost phone. So, don’t get panic. Be calm and follow all the tips and tricks discussed above.