Do This The Minute You Realize Your Iphone Is Stolen
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I can’t believe this is happening to me – was the first thing I thought when my phone got stolen right in front of my face. It just happened my last Vegas trip. I was sitting waiting for my friends to meet up with my cousin and I, so of course I had my phone sitting on the slot machine waiting for their text.
All the sudden, my cousin hit a huge bonus with a bunch of free games, so of course I jumped up and looked over at her machine, which was one over from mine. In that 30 second time frame, someone swiped my phone! I checked my purse, maybe I had put it back in my purse really quick… but nope. It was gone. Luckily, I read a lot and am a seasoned traveler so I knew what to do.
But, for a lot of you, you’d probably never even think about someone stealing your phone (because honestly who even steals phones anymore?!?!) I wanted to write this as a point of reference anytime a phone gets stolen. My phone was an iphone. I’ll cater towards iphone users so you will know exactly what to do the minute you realize your iphone is stolen.
NEVER Click on any links or ANYTHING sent via email, text message, or answer any numbers you do not recognize. These are the scammers trying to get into your account!
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Before I get into specifics, let me tell you a few things you should look out for when you’re on vacation. When we are on vacation, usually our guard is down which is why potential robbers see us as targets. We aren’t paying attention.
So, even when you are on vacation, make sure you operate as if you aren’t. Criminals are everywhere. All it takes is that one minute of distraction (or in my case 30 seconds) and in they sweep. By this, I mean always travel in groups, keep track of your valuables, and just be aware of your surroundings. Don’t be scared to travel! Just keep in mind that even at Disney World, “The happiest place on Earth” people still get stuff stolen.
For Iphone users, before you even go on vacation…
- Make sure FindMy is active
- Enable your PIN or Face ID or Touch ID
- Back up your phone to make room for new photos and videos
You hear me say this a lot in my articles, but the most important thing you can do when something bad happens is to breath. A lot of times we act with impulse and emotion instead of thinking logically. When you stop and take a breath, it centers your mind and helps you think clearly.
- Step 1 - Breath and Center Yourself
Often times, in this day and age, perps do a snatch and grab as a form of distraction. For example, maybe someone had snatched my phone to distract me. Then, if I ran off to security maybe I would forget I had money in the slot machine, which for example is what they were really after.
Maybe they are trying to get you to chase them so that they can get you by yourself. So, even if you see who did it, always get security. You never know if someone has a knife or even a gun. You never know someone’s true intent.
Regardless, if you keep a clear head, it will stop you from panicking or reacting instinctively and help you think rationally.
- Ask Around if Someone Saw Something
When we were playing, there were a few others around us. Unfortunately, everyone was wrapped up playing their own machines so no one saw anything.
You can also ask someone you are with or a stranger to call your phone. Sometimes the perp won’t be smart enough to turn off your phone, so you’ll be able to hear your ringtone and get a description, or if you’re with your friend, you can take a picture of the person who’s pocket or purse your phone is ringing from.
By making a big fuss, describing your phone to people, and being loud, this could be something that spooks the person who stole your phone into dumping it somewhere – especially if you were able to id them. They may throw it in a trash can or leave it somewhere so they don’t get caught now that there is a crowd of people on the look out for a “phone with a hot pink case” or “the Stranger Things theme song ringtone.”
So, after you notify security, don’t be ashamed to check the bathroom garbage cans or garbage cans outside the entrance. We actually found my friend’s purse in the bathroom garbage when she got her’s stolen at a bar. They just grabbed the cash in her wallet and dumped the rest so she was able to get her id and everything back.
- Find Help
This can come in a few different forms. If you are at a night club, you can ask someone like the bathroom attendant for help or a security guard. At the casino, we went straight for security to see if they could check the cameras. Places like these have a protocol they follow because it happens frequently. You’ll fill out a report so they have the theft on record.
If you are somewhere alone, let’s say a festival, ask a fellow girl to help you out. See if they will let you make a call on their phone to find your friend you are separated from. Ask if you can stay with them until you find a friend.
Most people are genuinely good in nature and will help you out.
- Change Your Voicemail
At this point, your phone is gone. We just have to accept that for now. It will all be ok.
In the meantime, because now the perp has definitely turned off your phone, you still have some time to alert people your phone has been stolen. If you call your phone number from security’s phone, you will be able to enter your settings with your PIN. You can change your voicemail to alert your friends that your phone has been stolen.
If you are lost/separated from friends, as some point your friends will call your phone. They will hear that you are waiting for them at security and come find you.
This happened to a friend of mine. She was washing her hands at a night club and someone took her phone right off the sink as she reached for paper towels. She didn’t have anyone’s number, so she went to find the promoter she knew. He was able to call her friend and reunite them. In the meantime, her friend was frantically looking for her all over the club and was so relieved once they reunited.
- Call & Activate 2 Factor Identification
If you follow me, you know that you should always enable 2 factor identification before you go on vacation. If you haven’t already, you can actually do this remotely by contacting your carrier or by signing into your online account from a friend’s phone or anywhere you can find the internet.
All these numbers for phone companies are available online. They actually have sites that give you direct lines to customer service agents. Just continue to say operator or representative until you get a person on the phone. Otherwise, the automation will send you a text and an email etc etc but you don’t have your phone so you cannot do any of that and you’ll just get frustrated. So, just go straight to a person.
From there they will freeze your account and report your phone as stolen. Now the perp just has a phone that doesn’t work and is pretty much useless. They also can’t pawn it because the serial number is reported as stolen and the SIM card is inactive.
- Go to FindMy
Sign into Find My Iphone app.
Select your device and mark it as lost.
Remove this device as a trusted device from your Apple account so no one can hack into your account.
At this point, everything is frozen so your phone is locked. In my case, my phone never came back online so it has been “no location found” for 3 weeks now.
You can leave a custom message on your phone that will pop up whenever the phone is turned on. If it is lost you can hope a good samaritin will turn it into security or to the police.
From here, you can erase your phone remotely. It’s up to you how long you want to wait for it to be found. But, the reality is if someone couldn’t break into it, they just threw it away or sold it for parts because iphones are actually really hard to break into because of all these security factors.
- Change your Passwords (Especially Apple)
For added protection, change all of your passwords. Before you do this, keep in mind you have 2 factor identification on so it will be a complicated process until you replace your phone.
- File a Claim with Apple Care
If you have insurance, Apple will replace your phone.
In the meantime, you can use an old phone or get a burner phone if you really need a phone.
For most phones, you just need to connect to the internet, so you can probably get by with that until your replacement phone arrives.
- MAJOR WARNING
Find My and Apple will NEVER send you a text with a link! They also will not call you (even though they ask for your number when you report it missing) or email you any links.
You may get a text with an Apple logo that your phone has been found or there is a new location of your phone etc with a link.
DO NOT CLICK THE LINK!
This is the scammers way of getting your login info!
If you click the link it will give them account access to use your account. Here they can access all your numbers and get into different apps.
The only way they got your number is because it is on your SIM card. No other information is stored outside of your iphone so they cannot access anything without your log in info.
Click Here for Apple’s Full Instructions and Safety Information.
- Extra Tips
- If you have a lot of pictures, use Google Drive. It has a ton of free storage.
- Keep a list of important and emergency numbers in your wallet.
- If you really need a phone, you can just buy a burner phone. You can choose to pay per minute etc with a lot of these cheap phones.
- Use social media to reconnect with people if you can’t find their number. You know where your friends are most active and will see your message.
- If you’re at a big venue, have a meet up spot so if someone goes missing you will know to look for them there. This also holds true for when phone batteries die too. Always good to have a meet up spot.
So far, my phone hasn’t been recovered. It was a new phone so that sucks. But, since I did all the proper protocol I protected myself and am OK with the loss. Besides, a thing is just a thing at the end of the day.
You have to appreciate the little things in life. Maybe they got my phone, but imagine how someone must have been following me to get it that fast. They were waiting for an opportunity and who knows how long they would have followed me for if they hadn’t gotten my phone. So in a way, it was a blessing they only took my phone.
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