Most of us spend a lot of time staring at our mobile phones. Try putting your phone in another room for a while and see how long it takes before you start to feel separation anxiety. Not only will it feel strange to be away from your phone, but it can make you worry that it might get lost or stolen. Think about all the private, personal information you store on your device, from conversations you have with your closest friends and family, to details of your current bank balance and how to send money around the world.
So if your phone is lost or stolen, it’s a serious problem — more than just a minor inconvenience. If for some reason you lose access to your phone, here are the next things you should do to keep your accounts and information safe:
Remotely lock your phone
You can remotely lock your device, whether it’s iOS or Android, if you prepare in advance. For iPhone, Face/Touch ID and Passcode Protect your lock screen from settings and turn it on Theft Device Protectionwhich means authentication is required to access more features of your phone. From Settings, tap your name and My Search It allows you to remotely locate your cell phone.
For Android Pixel smartphonesOpen Settings, Security and Privacyafter that Unlocking the device (For lock screen protection) Device Finder (For remote access). For Galaxy smartphones, Select Settings Security and Privacyafter that Lock screen (for lock screen settings) and Lost Device Protection Enabling these features (to access your phone remotely) will make your life much easier if your phone is lost or stolen.
If you can’t find your iPhone anymore, find a web browser and open iCloud on the web. My Search Sections: You can see the device’s last reported location, enable Lost Mode (which will provide details to help return the device to whoever finds it), and remotely wipe the device to prevent anyone from accessing it.
For Android, Google phones have “Find My Device” and Samsung phones have “SmartThings Find.” The options on these portals are similar to Apple’s. You can remotely lock your phone if you think someone might find it and return it to you, or wipe it remotely if you think that’s unlikely. You can also track your phone on a map, but we don’t recommend confronting the thief face-to-face.
Reset your account login
If you follow all the steps above, the chances of someone gaining access to your messages, emails, bank details, and other sensitive information will be minimal unless they somehow manage to replicate your face or fingerprints. However, it’s better to be overly cautious than complacent when it comes to the security of your various accounts.
Consider changing your passwords for your most important apps, which will automatically log you out of your account on any other devices you’re logged in on (including a lost or stolen phone), and you should also turn on two-step authentication on any accounts where it’s available. If you haven’t done so already, go.
If you can log into your account on another device, you can often remotely log out from there from everywhere else. For example, on Instagram on the web, Where you are logged in There is no need to sign out of your device. We encourage you to periodically check these lists to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
Google and Apple This is also covered pretty well: for Google accounts (including Android logins), go to the security page of the Google dashboard on the web, Manage all your devicesOn macOS, apple Menu and choose System setting See a list of all devices you’re logged into (and can remotely sign out if needed).
Contact your loved ones
In addition to the steps we’ve already mentioned, it wouldn’t hurt to contact a few important people and companies and let them know that your phone may be in someone else’s hands. If they have access to everything on your phone in some way, that’s a pretty significant security risk.
Contacting your mobile carrier is a good start, as they will block your number and prevent anything from being charged to your account. If someone has access to your mobile number and it is left active, they can impersonate you in a variety of ways and may even be able to intercept the verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
Then there’s banking. These days, almost every banking and mobile payment app is protected by biometric authentication, so the risk of someone making purchases with your phone should be relatively low. But when it comes to money, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Finally, it’s also important to reach out to friends and family to let them know that messages that appear to be sent from you may not actually be from you, so that people in your social circle can be more vigilant against potential scams (such as messages asking for money or containing phishing links).
