Apple, iPhone OSA, like any smart phone with the ability to store large amounts of personal information can put you at risk of identity theft if it is lost or stolen. Fortunately there are many precautions you can take to relieve the pain of a lost iPhone. If your iPhone has been lost or stolen and you have not taken these proactive steps, your options are more limited, but there are still steps you need to take to mitigate the risk and cost of losing iPhone.
What to do before your iPhone is lost or stolen
Guard against identity theft with a protection service against identity theft. To an identity thief, a lost or stolen iPhone is a potential gold mine of information. Losing your iPhone could expose your bank account online, online brokerage account, name, address, telephone number and email address, passwords, emails and other personal data in a criminal. If your iPhone will not miss a protection against identity theft services will help prevent and detect identity theft.
Password protect your iPhone. Setting a password on your iPhone is very simple and immediate added layer of security in case of theft.
From the screen of your iPhone at home:
- Click on the Settings button
- Click General
- Click Passcode Lock
- you will be prompted to enter and confirm a password to four digits for your iPhone
your iPhone password is now set and you will be prompted to enter the four-digit number every time you try to access your phone. This simple step can greatly reduce the probability that a criminal is able to access your personal information on your iPhone if it's lost or stolen. While having a password will potentially prevent unauthorized access to information stored on your iPhone, it is still possible to make outgoing calls. So it is important to alert your wireless provider immediately after you find out that your iPhone is lost or stolen so that you are not potentially liable for calls made by someone else.
Download GadgetTrak the iTunes App store. GadgetTrak is a free iPhone application that can geo-locate your phone from a web browser. GadgetTrak is available for all versions of the iPhone and iPod Touch. This application is probably more useful for when your iPhone is lost rather than stolen because a knowledgeable thief could simply disable the application. Despite this decline, we strongly suggest that iPhone owners download GadgetTrak because it is a free application and could be very useful if your iPhone is lost or stolen. You can visit the GadgetTrak website for more information.
Write your iPhone, AOS IMEI number. Your iPhone, AOS IMEI, or International Mobile Equipment Identity is a number of five numbers that can be used by wireless carriers to identify your specific device. It is located on the back of your iPhone near the FCC ID and serial number (you can also write your iPhone, AOS serial number for your records, although such information is not really useful to help the recovery). Keep the IMEI number in a safe place so you can find easily if your iPhone is lost or stolen.
Keep your iPhone backed by syncing with iTunes frequently. There is always a good idea to ensure that all information on your iPhone is also saved on your computer by synchronizing often through iTunes. This will make the data recovery process from lost or stolen iPhone relatively painless. For added protection you may want to consider using an online backup service to store copies of all the files on your computer. This way you will always be able to restore your files if both your iPhone and your computer disappear simultaneously.
Treat your iPhone as its cash equivalent. You wouldn, AOT leave two crisp hundred dollar bills lying around so that gift, AOT be too careless with your iPhone $ 199. Treat your phone with the same level of security and care that you use to backup your wallet, purse or other important elements.
What to do after your iPhone is lost or stolen
Guard against identity theft with a protection service against identity theft. If you didn, AOT up for a service before your phone is gone, we recommend you do so as soon as possible because identity thieves will usually start working as soon as they get your information. Losing your iPhone could expose your bank account online, online brokerage account, name, address, telephone number and email address, passwords, emails and other personal data in a criminal. If identity theft does not seek to use information from your iPhone, a protection against identity theft services will be your best defense as well as provide you with the services you need to recover from identity theft should the worst happen.
Tell your mobile operator. You must contact AT & T, the exclusive mobile carrier for the iPhone, as soon as you realize that your phone is gone. AT & T will be able to disable the wireless account associated with your iPhone which will prevent criminals from running up large mobile phone bills in your name that you could potentially be held responsible.
file a police report. While some police will not be particularly interested or concerned help you recover your iPhone, others are surprisingly useful. We read online accounts from a police detective who claims to have recovered four of five iPhones stolen in cases brought to its attention. This is when it is useful to have available the IMEI number.
Notify your contacts. All personal information stored on your lost or stolen iPhone is now potentially accessible by all, especially if it is not protected by password. It is important for all contacts in your phone to know that their personal contact information is potentially in the hands of foreigners. Often criminals commit crimes against those listed in the contact list phone, AOS posing as the legitimate owner.
Tell your employer. If your iPhone is connected to your company network, AOS or confidential business information stored in, you should immediately notify your employer. It is a good idea to let your supervisor or another company official know that as soon as you realize your phone is missing. Be sure to change the password to your email address immediately if it is related to your iPhone. This will prevent the phone to be able to download additional emails.
Change all your online passwords. Your iPhone has a powerful Web browser with the ability to store any of your online passwords for easy access to Web-based accounts. Whoever lost or stolen iPhone in their possession can now potentially have access to your bank accounts and online brokerage, email, PayPal, eBay, Amazon and all the social networking sites you belong. Change passwords now to prevent your online accounts being compromised.
You may also be interested in our laptop recovery guide lost or stolen.