Even the most dedicated smartphone user will lose it from time to time, which is particularly inconvenient if you are away from the safety of your home or office. To help address this issue, we’ve put together some ideas for what you should do if you ever do lose your device.
Of course, a phone is rarely just a phone these days, and it’s likely your device contains a fair amount of personal information on it, such as your messages, phone calls, payment information, banking details, and so on. Losing your phone is an especially big deal considering these facts.
First, Try Looking for Your Phone
Sometimes you might set your phone down somewhere and forget about it, or it might fall out of your pocket in the car. Most cell providers will give you the ability to locate your phone, provided it’s not set to silent. Both Apple and Android also offer features that help you locate a lost phone, provided you have set up the service before losing the device. Hopefully, the phone finding features help you locate your device, but if not, then you’ll want to jump on the rest of the options listed below to take immediate action.
Cancel Service for the Device
You’ll want to take action to cancel service for the device through your service provider. This will help to limit the damage done as a result of the device going MIA. They can also help you acquire a replacement device.
Deactivate Any Mobile Accounts
You’ll also want to deactivate your mobile accounts so that potential threats cannot take advantage of the information located on them. Most providers give you the ability to remotely wipe your device, all while backing up information to the cloud for easy restoration later on. Really the big goal here is to prevent data from being stolen from the device.
Change Any Relevant Passwords
Changing all of your passwords is going to take a while, but you don’t want the hacker to potentially break into any of them with your device. You should be changing your passwords periodically anyway, so it shouldn’t take an event like this to make you consider doing so.
Report the Loss or Theft to the Authorities
If you think someone has stolen or found your device, you can always file a police report to see if they can do anything about it. Although, there is no guarantee that anything will come of it. If nothing else, you’re helping them collect information about potential crimes so they can take more preventative actions later on. If you have insurance, you’ll have to provide a police report in most cases, too.
Report Your Lost Device to IT
If you lose your work device, then you’ll need to report it to IT so that they are aware of the device being lost or stolen. Your IT department will then do a lot of the work for you, shutting it down, wiping the phone, and keeping an eye on accounts while you address password issues.
Look Forward to a New Phone
While losing a phone might not be a great thing to experience, you can rest easy knowing that you’ll be able to get a new device and get back in action as soon as possible. The new device might even be more up-to-date, too!
For more on how to address common issues with your technology, be sure to keep coming back to our blog.
