Every now and then I was looking for directions to the best tourist spots when a thief managed to steal my phone. Yes, I am now one of the thousands of tourists who get their phones stolen every year. So here is what I did immediately after my phone was stolen.
When your phone is lost or stolen, you may be concerned about the personal data and sensitive information stored on it. Fortunately, there are steps you can take quickly to protect your data and regain control. From tracking your device to securing linked accounts, these actions can minimize potential damage and help you recover your phone or reduce the risk. Check out some tips to protect your smartphone from theft.
1. Mark iPhone as Lost on iCloud
It's possible that the thief took my phone in an unlocked state, giving them full access to all my data. Even if my phone wasn't locked, the thief who stole it might have the technical know-how to unlock it without my PIN.
Anyway, I wouldn't take any chances.
The first thing I did after my phone was stolen was log into iCloud and mark the phone as lost. Doing so locked my phone and suspended Apple Pay.
2. I tried to find my iPhone.
At first, I thought I had lost my phone rather than it having been stolen.
I logged into Find My Devices on iCloud, hoping to see my phone at the hotel I was staying at or a restaurant I had recently visited. When I saw it on its way out of town, I concluded there was no chance of getting it back.
When you don’t know whether your phone has been stolen or simply lost, I recommend that you exercise extreme caution if you choose to track it personally. Check out how to find a lost Android phone.
3. Remotely erase my device
Now that I've decided I'm never going to get my phone back, it's time to erase it. To do this, I log back into Find My Devices on iCloud and tapped Erase this device.
I didn’t have to worry about deleting my precious photos or videos from my trip, as everything I needed was already in the cloud. Erasing all sensitive data on my phone allowed me to rest easy knowing that a thief wouldn’t have access to my personal and financial information.
4. I called the police.
I didn't call the police so they could launch a full-scale investigation to get my phone back. I knew that once he was out of town, there would be no chance of seeing him again.
However, I called the police because petty thefts are rarely reported. I was hoping that the police would increase their presence in the area where my phone was stolen so that future tourists like me would be better protected.
5. I called my phone company.
My phone company at the time was AT&T. After the theft I called customer service to tell them my phone was stolen. I did this for two reasons.
First, I wanted to know if the stolen phone was covered by my plan. I decided to file a claim with AT&T I found out that my phone was already insured and that they would provide me with a new phone. If my phone wasn't insured, I would have bought a new phone right away.
The second reason I contacted her was to disable my account so my phone couldn’t make calls, send texts, or use any data. Disabling the account would also prevent cybercriminals from using SMS for two-step verification and accessing financial accounts.
6. I have changed my Apple account password among other things.
At this point, I was pretty sure that my most important accounts were protected. To further enhance my data security, I decided to change my Apple ID password and the passwords used for my financial accounts. Fortunately, I use a password manager, so logging into my accounts and making changes from my friend’s computer was relatively easy.
7. Contacting loved ones and friends
Now that I have protected myself, it is time to protect my loved ones and friends. I have sent messages to my close ones and posted on IG that I recently lost my phone and that if anyone has contacted me in the past few hours with a strange request or a message with a link, they should ignore the message.
Having your phone stolen is like having your arm cut off. You feel paralyzed and lost without your device; I’ve been there before. However, having a response plan in place in case your device is stolen is crucial. I hope your device never gets stolen, but if it does, just follow the steps above. Now you can see how your phone can be hacked remotely and what you can do to prevent it.
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