Having an iPhone is the same as having a very valuable item for all thieves in your hands. This is why you can be a victim throughout your life of the theft of your personal iPhone and you must know how to act in those cases. In this article we explain the steps you must follow so that the thief ends up stealing a real paperweight.
Activate lost mode on iPhone
We have always recommended having the ‘Find my iPhone’ function enabled and configured. In this situation in which your iPhone has been stolen, it will come in handy to protect all your information. If this is your case and you have this function active on your iPhone, the first thing you should do is lock the iPhone to prevent the thief from accessing your information. In this way, it can be said that you have stolen a paperweight since you will not be able to use it in any way.
To perform this blocking action you must follow the following steps:
- Access the iCloud.com/find website. It can be accessed from any device, regardless of the operating system it has.
- Sign in with your Apple ID credentials.
- Search the list for the device that was stolen from you.
- Select the ‘Mark as lost’ option.
In this way, the device will be blocked remotely with a code that only you will know. You can also display a message on the screen in case it is found by someone who knows it is yours. In addition, in this mode the location of the device will be tracked at all times in the event that it has not been turned off. To this is added the inactivation of payment through Apple Pay so that all your cards are completely safe and nobody can use them.
In the event that you have another Apple device such as an iPad or a Mac, you can use the ‘Search’ application. Upon entering this you will see a map with the location of each of your device, and at the bottom there will be a list where to select the iPhone that has been stolen from you. When you press you will see all its information as well as the option to activate the lost mode that will have the same characteristics that we have previously commented.
Report to the authorities
Once you have activated lost mode it is important to quickly contact the nearest police station. Once here you must file a theft report incorporating all the iPhone data that has been stolen from you. Among these data it is important to detail the iPhone model and also its serial number and IMEI . You will find these data in the box of the device, but if you are foresight you will have located it previously and you will always have it written down in an accessible note.
In the event that the thief has not remembered to turn off the device and you can track the location at all times, it is important not to go to the site marked alone. It is always advisable to go with this location to the police station so that the authorities are the ones who move around and can intervene the iPhone and the thief.
Contact telephone company
In order to prevent the thief of your iPhone from making calls, sending an SMS or consuming the data rate, it is important to contact the phone company. By reporting the theft, the operator can telematically block the SIM card and deactivate it in order to issue you a new one. It is important that this step is done as quickly as possible to avoid that if something criminal is done with this iPhone they can target you. The complaint that we have previously mentioned is also a good shield against possible repercussions of the theft.
Erase iPhone content
In the event that you want to ensure that no one can access your personal data or credit cards, you can remotely erase them through the Search application or on the website mentioned above. Next to the option to activate lost mode, you will find the option ‘delete device content’ . This will erase all data remotely. But it is important not to delete the iPhone from the list of devices, since it would eliminate the blocking by iCloud. This would mean that if the thief turns on the device you will not be asked for any unlock credentials and you can freely use it as your personal iPhone.
Change passwords and remove iPhone from trusted devices
In addition to blocking the iPhone and also filing the corresponding report, it is important to change the passwords of all the services. Starting with the Apple ID password and including that of social networks and other websites such as Facebook or Twitter. This will close the session on the iPhone that has been stolen and you guarantee that all your data is safe without anyone being able to access it.
It is also important to remove the iPhone from the list of trusted devices . This will prevent double-factor authentication codes from being sent to the iPhone, increasing your security. To perform this simple task, simply go to the account page of your Apple ID and go to the ‘Devices’ section. Here you can remove the stolen iPhone with a single touch from the trusted list.