3 Power Tips for Stolen iPhone
Advance Notice: This article includes many resources about what to do when your iPhone or Android is lost or stolen! This article is based on a recent personal experience. You will also find a convenient checklist to download and keep with you at the end of the article.
Stolen iPhone: What to do First
Like most of you, I also thought I would NEVER have my phone stolen.
Lost, yes.
Always a possibility.
Stolen iPhone? Different entirely.
When your iPhone is simply lost, you have a great chance of getting it back.
Getting into a NYC taxi, I once found two phones and returned them to their owners, just casually conversing outside on the street.
In your home city or even internationally – a simple call to a restaurant, hotel, or taxi company (keep your receipt) will get your phone back.
Yes, it’s true! A friend of mine always leaves his iPhone in a taxi. It’s happened dozens of times. In New York. In London. And elsewhere around the world.
…and he’s always got it back.
Stolen iPhone Different Process from “Lost”
Perhaps like you, I NEVER imagined my iPhone or Android Pixel 3 would be stolen.
I keep track of these devices at all times.
Yet when spending a month in Montpellier, my Max Pro 11 iPhone was literally taken from my hands by two thieves.
Yes. That’s right. Taken from my hands! Then they ran off.
No “light fingers” made their way into my purse or pocket.
Two men simply yanked the iPhone from my hands.
My first reaction was that of fighting back to get my phone – but they were already running off.
And there were two of them, I was alone.
Several people on balconies and nearby saw the theft.
One actually called the police department and gave me the directions (by tram) to file a complaint.
Further into this article, you will see my experience at the police station and if it is worth your time to file a complaint.
How to Prevent Stolen iPhone
Being prepared is key.
This means:
Expecting your iPhone or Android might be lost or stolen one day
Just expect it would happen.
I wish I had read this article before my phone was stolen, so I’d be better prepared and could save a lot of time and money.
1. Prevent Stolen iPhone Information Theft by Locking Your Phone with A Code
Luckily, I was “forced into this” by my company’s IT department. They made every phone, even personal phones, have a code.
And create a code more difficult than 1,2,3,4 so thieves won’t laugh all the way to the bank when they sell your unlocked phone – or tap into the credit card information – within it.
Increasingly people are encouraged to create a six digit code and that is the best way to go.
2. Consider just a 3 or 4 second time elapse before your phone locks.
Yes, I was resistant to this as well. I am always using my phone, and it was a hassle to unlock it every time I needed to check my email or take a picture.
Yet as I was watching my thieves run off with my phone, I was grateful for programming my phone to lock after a few seconds. They were too busy running to try to keep the phone open, and by the time they arrived at their destination the phone would be locked.
3. Ensure that your “find my phone” (for iPhone) or the equivalent for an Android device is active
With my iPhone gone, I was able to turn off and erase my phone with the “find my phone” program that was on my ipad and Macbook computer. Yet even if you didn’t have another Apple device with you, it is possible to use any computer to log into your iCloud account and erase sensitive financial information on your stolen phone.
4. Tracking System Information for Stolen iPhone
Through the “Find My Phone” tracking system, I was able to see the last time the iPhone was active, and its location as well. I took a screenshot to show the police.
As I was attending a university program in Montpellier, I was surprised to see that the location of my stolen iPhone was a five minute walk from the campus. (note: it had been stolen in a completely different section of the city).
Curious if someone just tossed the iPhone from a car window when they realized they could not get the data from it, I walked to the address.
It was a middle class apartment complex, with several different apartments.
I took a few pictures of the apartment complex, again for the police.
5. Knowing Who to Contact about Stolen iPhone
At the time my phone was stolen, I had AppleCare but not the (then) relatively new insurance for lost or stolen phones.
So I called my personal homeowner’s insurance to see what the options were. They were not good. Sure, I could report the stolen phone and get a check, but with it would come higher insurance premiums.
In the end, I contacted AT&T, my service provider. I had insurance for all my Apple devices with them. The deductible was fairly reasonable at $250. But the problem was that I’d be in Montpellier for another 22 days – without an iPhone.
AT&T was not able to ship internationally.
I could have asked them to send the phone to my home address, and have a friend send it to me in Europe.
The good thing is that I had my Google Pixel 3 with me (I always travel with 2 phones) so I was able to wait out my time until I returned to the States.
6. Filing a Police Report for a Stolen iPhone
For my particular insurance with AT&T, it turned out I “did not” need to file an insurance claim.
Yet I didn’t realize that until later, so I made what turned out to be a 4 hour visit to the police station.
The station was fairly new, and the international (but mostly French) crowd was there to file a report, mostly for stolen iPhones.
Two police officers asked me a variety of questions, so be certain to have all the information you need before you visit.
1. The IMEI number for your phone. This is crucial.
You will see in the “checklist” at the end of the article the first thing you must do is keep your phone’s IMEI number with you in a place other than your phone.It took several calls for me to get my IMEI number (note: Apple won’t have it, but your service provider, in my case AT&T, will have it.
2. The exact time and place where your phone was stolen.
3. A physical description of the thieves.
In addition to giving the police the time, place, and description of the thieves, I also showed them the screenshot of the last place the phone was located. I asked the police if they would be able to just go to the apartment complex and interview the suspects. They said that if it had been a private home, they could do this. But because it was an apartment complex, it would not be possible.Looking back at the theft, I now realize how it could have been prevented.
1. Guard your iPhone like a wad of cash.
Most people are discreet with cash, tucking it into their purse or pocket quickly after they leave a cash machine.Thieves see your phone as a wad of cash, so keep it out of site.
2. Resist the temptation to buy a bright red phone cover.
Yes, my cover was bright fire engine red. This falls into the same category as flashing the cash. After the theft, I bought a black cover. I might use the red cover when I’m in a familiar environment, but I put on the black when I’m in a foreign city at night.
3. Don’t stand in the middle of a street, looking at your phone for directions.
This is when my phone was taken from my hands.
4. Assume thieves are tracking you.I felt fairly safe in Montpellier. Mistake. Assume that thieves are always on the lookout for “marks.” This goes for every city, even your hometown.
Stolen iPhone: After the Theft
For nearly four months after the theft, I received daily phone calls, Facebook calls, messages, and emails saying things like:
- Your phone has been found (addresses ranged from Montpellier, to Paris, to a location near my office in NYC). “Please contact this number to get it back,” read the message.
- Most of the missives pretended they were from Apple, and requested I give them my login information.
- A particularly creative person pretended he bought my phone from someone on the street, and that he was receiving all my personal messages. He pretended he was trying to help me solve this problem.
Of course, by that time, I already was back in NYC with my replacement phone. But thieves know how desperate people are to get their phone back, and often succeed in luring people to reveal their information.
The Bottom Line
Be prepared in the event your phone is lost or stolen.
Below is a downloadable checklist of what you should do before and after the theft.
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Author Marisa D’Vari is a Luxury Travel Expert
