Phone Stolen or Lost? Here’s What to Do

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For most of us, our phones are constantly in and out of our pockets – as we check texts and notifications, unfortunately, this means they’re prime targets for thieves who may be watching and scouting out their next victim.
So, what do you do when your phone has been lost or stolen? 

In this guide, Protect Your Bubble provides practical advice, to help you answer this and other questions, such as how to track phones and how best to prevent the possibility of phone theft.

person taking a phone out of another persons bag

What To Do If Your Phone Is Stolen

A stolen phone is a devastating experience. Not only has the physical handset gone but it could put you at risk of losing money through banking apps but also fraud and identity theft. 
The first line of defence is to have a strong PIN, passcode, password, or pattern. Or have facial recognition active this will slow down the thief accessing the phone and your data.
So, what should you do if your phone gets stolen?
  • Step 1: Report the phone as stolen or missing to your provider. They can use the IMEI number to disable the phone and block it from making calls or texts.
  • Step 2: Next, give the IMEI number to the local police contact line. This will help them track the phone.
  • Step 3: The police will also create a crime reference number after the incident has been reported. Keep a note of this.
  • Step 4: Change all passwords associated with any accounts and apps on the device to prevent thieves from gaining access to crucial information and sensitive data. A potential thief could link your smartphone to a wireless network, granting them access to your social media, email and other accounts on your phone. Update your passwords for critical accounts to prevent the thief from gaining entry to your online banking and personal information, which could potentially lead to identity theft in the worst-case scenario.
  • Step 5: If you have a phone insurance provider, call their claims line and tell them what’s happened. They’ll need the crime reference number to process a claim. The claim will be assessed against the insurance providers terms and condition and if successful, and after an excess payment they may provide a replacement phone. For successful claims Protect Your Bubble, provide up to two yearly phone replacements with our mobile phone insurance policies*.
  • Step 6: While the police do their best to track down the phone, network providers might provide a replacement phone and SIM at an additional administration cost. If you’re unable to get a new phone through your insurance or network provider, you may wish to either buy a new phone and continue your current contract or wait until the current contract ends and get a new handset as part of a new contract.
 

What To Do When Your Phone Is Lost

Sometimes a phone may not be stolen but just lost. And while it may not seem as urgent as reporting a phone stolen, there are some key steps you should take for peace of mind when you can’t find your phone:
  • Step 1: Try calling the number immediately.
  • Step 2: If you can’t hear the phone ringing, use mobile device management software, or another device with an associated account, to lock the phone remotely.
  • Step 3: Try to track the phone. There are many tools for tracking phones. Make use of these to locate the lost phone. Samsung, Android, and iOS devices all have features to help track lost phones or tablets. There may also be the option to make the phone play a sound to help you locate it. You could try this step for a stolen phone as well, but we do not recommend it. It could put yourself in potential danger. Approaching the thief or entering a building if located is high risk and is best left to the police.
  • Step 4: Samsung, Android, and iOS also have features that allow users to erase all data from a device associated with their Apple ID, Samsung account or Android account. Erasing device data reduces the chance of a breach if it ends up in the wrong hands. But make sure you have regular back-ups activated on your phone so you can restore the data should you find the phone. Again, this step could be considered if the phone has been stolen.
  • Step 5: If the phone still hasn’t been located, or you suspect it may have been stolen, the next step is reporting it to the police and contacting the SIM provider to lock the phone remotely.
  • Step 6: Change the login information to any online accounts or apps saved on the lost device, remove it from the list of trusted devices and unlink any accounts.
 

How To Track Lost or Stolen Phones

It’s possible to track a phone by making use of another device, app or web browser. 
Samsung, Android, and iOS devices all have ‘find my phone’ features, that allow users to track the location of any linked devices. 
Below is a step-by-step guide to tracking stolen phones for each device type *Examples are based on using the same operating system as the stolen handset.

How To Track a Stolen Samsung Phone

Step 1: Open ‘settings’ and select ‘biometrics & security’.
Step 2: Select ‘find my mobile’ and toggle it on. Enter your Samsung account details or ‘create an account’.
Step 3: Decide to opt in or out of features such as remote unlock, send last location, and offline finding.

How To Track a Stolen iPhone

Active the tracking beforehand:
Step 1: Select ‘settings’, then your ‘Apple ID (name)’.
Step 2: Select ‘find my’, then ‘find my iPhone’. Ensure that the toggle for ‘find my iPhone’ is always switched on.
Step 3: Turn on ‘find my network’ and ‘send last location’. These options will signal where the phone was last located, if the iPhone’s internet services are turned off, or if it has no connection.
Use another device to track your mobile phone when it has been lost or stolen.
Step 1: Launch ‘find my’ app or go to Find Devices on iCloud.com then select ‘devices’.
Step 2: Select the stolen iPhone or iPad from the list.
Step 3: There are also options to play a sound to help locate the device, get street directions to your device, and mark a device as lost. You can also set up a notification for when a user leaves behind their phone, as well as wiping the device remotely.

How To Track a Stolen Android Phone

Step 1: Go to ‘settings’, then select ‘security’. Alternatively, go to ‘Google’.
Step 2: Tap ‘find my device’, or you can type ‘find my device’ into Google.
Step 3: Turn on ‘find my device’. Next, open the phone/tablet app, or web browser app. This will indicate where the phone is on the map.
Step 4: See the device location displayed on the map.
 
We do not recommend you approach a thief or enter a building where the phone has been located if it has been stolen. You’d be entering a high-risk situation and this should be left to the police.

How To Check If a Phone Is Stolen

Sometimes a phone may be sold second-hand to an unsuspecting customer, causing confusion between the buyer, the authorities and the phone's original owner.  
This is why it’s important to check any second-hand phones are not stolen before agreeing to buy them. This can be done by asking for the phone's IMEI number. If the seller fails to provide it, it may be an indication the phone is stolen.
IMEI numbers are unique identifiers that can be used by the police or mobile phone companies to track and register phones as being stolen or lost. 
Most mobile phone providers will be able to tell you if a phone is stolen. Alternatively, many websites can be used to check IMEI numbers to see if the handset is stolen.
 

How To Find Your Phone When It's Dead

When a phone runs out of battery, it loses all access to any web-based or internal tracking software. This makes it nearly impossible to pinpoint the exact location of a dead phone. 
Thankfully, most tracking software can pinpoint the last known location of a phone, potentially narrowing down the search area. To access this feature, you’ll need access to a web browser or another device using the same Apple ID, Android, or Samsung account as the stolen phone.
Simply follow the tips in the ‘how to track a stolen phone’ section above to find the phone’s last available location.
 

What Precautions Should You Take Before a Phone Is Lost or Stolen

The best way to avoid a stolen phone and the security risks that come with it is by taking personal precautions.
This includes protecting the phone itself as well as the personal and financial information it holds. 
Here, Protect Your Bubble provides its top tips for protecting your phone from loss, theft, and security risks:
  • Never leave the device unattended
  • Be aware of your surroundings, use you phone when it feels safe to do so. When texting keep it close to your body with two hands.
  • Enable tracking functionality on all devices.
  • Secure the device with a password and facial recognition technology.
  • Keep mobile internet data switched on.
  • Back up data by syncing to cloud storage.
  • It’s preferable to buy a phone with batteries that cannot be removed.
 

How Do I Recover Data from A Lost or Stolen Phone?

If your phone has been lost or stolen, there are a few steps you can take to recover your data, including:
Backup to the Cloud: It’s important to regularly backup data to the cloud. All smartphones offer a way to restore a new device with previously backed-up information if the same account is used.
Contact the Manufacturer: If data wasn’t backed up to the cloud, the manufacturer may be able to offer additional ways to help you recover the data.
If data is unable to be restored via these methods, it sadly may be lost for good. This is why it’s important to back up data regularly.
Protect Your Bubble offers insurance for smartphones, including Android phones and iPhones. 
A few details about our phone insurance 
  • Worldwide Cover from theft, damage and mechanical breakdown outside the manufacturer’s warranty*.
  • We accepted 97.7% of claims that provided the information we required**
  • We have over 15,000 5-star reviews on Trustpilot.
  • You could insure an iPhone 15 128GB for £5.99p/m or £7.49p/m*** with loss cover
 
* Underwriter Assurant General Insurance Limited. Gadget age restrictions, T&Cs and excesses apply. Customer UK 18+.
**From 01.01.24 to 30.06.24
***Prices are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.
 
FAQ's

Most smartphones have a ‘find my phone’ function that allows users to track the location of other devices by logging into their personal accounts. Android phones offer this through a user’s Google account, while iOS devices use an iTunes account to find a stolen iPhone. Samsung devices require a Samsung account. If you locate your device contact the police. We do not recommend you try and retrieve a stolen phone yourself, this could put you in danger.

If no steps are taken to secure a stolen phone, it may offer the thief access to a range of personal details and information. To prevent this from happening, it’s first important to add password and facial recognition technology to your smartphone to stop a thief from using the device. If the phone is stolen, it’s also important to contact the SIM network provider immediately, so they can block the phone's ability to make calls and send messages. A phone network provider can also block a phone's international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) code to prevent the phone from being used entirely. If you have backed your phone up to the cloud you could consider remotely wiping the phone's data.

If a phone is stolen and hasn’t been blocked by the mobile network provider, they may be able to access any of the device’s functions. Thieves can make use of any contactless payment apps to make unauthorised purchases. They can also make unauthorised in-app purchases and access passwords and personal information for various private accounts, from banking apps to dating profiles. They can then refurbish the phone and sell it.