Today, for all of us, smartphone is no less than a personal computer. Today, all the important chats, documents, photos, useful apps etc. are present in the phone. In such a situation, if the phone is lost or stolen, then the smoothly running life gets derailed. Although, this can happen to anyone, but most people have no idea what to do if their phone is stolen. Most people do not even consider it necessary to file a complaint with the police.
However, this can not only lead to misuse of your SIM or phone but can also cause greater financial loss to you. In such a situation, it is important to know what to do immediately if the phone is stolen or lost. This helps you avoid further damage and also increases the chances of getting your lost phone back.
It is noteworthy that the Department of Telecommunications had also launched a portal named Sanchar Sathi in May 2023 to make this work easier. This portal has been visited more than 30 crore times since its launch. Not only this, you can estimate the capability of this platform from the fact that with its help more than 50 lakh suspicious connections have been closed and more than 14 lakh lost phones have also been recovered.
If your phone is lost or stolen, the first thing you should do is try to track it with the help of Google Find Hub. For this, you can track the location of the phone on Google Find Hub with the help of that email, which was also active in the phone. If your phone is on and connected to the internet, you can track it, remotely lock it, or erase all your personal data.
If you are an iPhone user, you can do all these things with the help of Find My.
If for some reason you are not able to access the phone with the help of Google Find Hub or Apple Find My, then your next step should be to register an e-FIR for your phone. This work can be done online and keep a copy of the complaint with you.
Get your duplicate SIM card immediately after filing e-FIR. For this you will have to go to your telecom operator’s store. After verification, your SIM card will be issued to you. Not activating your SIM card also puts you at risk of financial fraud.
After all this work is done, you can block the IMEI number of your phone by going to the Sanchar Sathi portal. With this, no one will be able to use your device by inserting a SIM in it. Also, as soon as your phone is activated, its tracing information will be directly available to the police.
For this go to sancharsaathi.gov.in or ceir.gov.in.
On the homepage you will get the option of Block Stolen/Lost Mobile, click on it.
After this, fill the details of your lost device like both IMEI numbers, mobile number, brand and model of the device etc.
After this tell where, when your phone was lost or stolen and also select the concerned police station.
After this, upload the digital copy of the complaint or e-FIR lodged with the police and the phone bill.
After this upload your details like name, address and any ID proof.
Submit the form by entering the OTP received on your duplicate SIM.
Keep the Request ID received after this safely. With its help you will be able to check the status.
If you follow these steps in case your phone is lost or stolen, you will not only avoid any potential financial loss but you can also prevent misuse of your SIM and phone.
Apart from this, completing the process also increases the chances of getting your phone back.