Have you ever lost a phone? If yes, then you must be able to recall the trauma and anxiety you went through trying to cope with the reality of losing your phone. Your mind must have immediately been drenched with terrible thoughts of the cost of having to buy a new phone, your personal information like messages and pictures being leaked to the outside world, and your contacts and messages going to the wrong hands. Whatever comes to your mind, it is a horrifying situation to even imagine yourself to be in. In this article, I will briefly discuss the immediate measures you should take when you lose your phone.
1. Call Your Lost Phone
The first best thing to do after you have checked your bag and pockets to confirm that your phone is missing is to call your phone using someone else’s phone. Most likely you probably just misplaced it somewhere in the vicinity of where you last were. If you don’t have the opportunity to use someone else’s phone, use the free callmyphone.org service.
2. Use Phone Tracking Devices
You should immediately download a phone tracker for iphones or an android, and track your phone’s location. These apps are becoming increasingly popular, especially among parents, and they work by locating your phone using a GPS.
3. Inform Your Employer
If you receive emails from your workplace on the email that is set up on your phone, then you should immediately contact your employer and inform them to not send any information to your number and email address due to losing your phone. This will keep private work-related files/data from getting into the wrong hands.
4. Contact Your Bank and Credit Card Companies
If you have made online purchases using your debit or credit cards and fear your card information may be at risk of being stolen, then call your bank and credit card companies and inform them of your stolen phone so that all cards can be blocked.
5. Contact Your Phone Carrier
By contacting your phone carrier you can tell them of your phone being stolen so they can cancel your phone service and transfer your phone number to a new device.
6. Protect Your Accounts
If your phone requires a pin before unlocking, this can save you time to log onto some important accounts like your email, online banking account, and social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc., and changing their passwords.
7. Remotely Lock & Wipe Your Phone Clean
Most smartphones come with a built-in “kill switch” which allows to remotely deactivate the device and also prevents thieves from resetting the smartphone. To get these services to work, you need to have them installed first on your phone. If you do, then immediately take this step.
Conclusion
With all that said, no one would ever like to be in a situation where they are anxious about losing their phone. It is no doubt that our cellphones are our ware-houses for all the personal information we keep in them and so they should always be safe with us. In case you lose a cellphone and follow the safety measures above to keep your information safe and secure.
