Few situations generate as much anxiety as arriving home and discovering that we have left our cell phone somewhere. Or that it has been inadvertently stolen from us, which is an even worse scenario. According to the Secretary of State for Security, last year there were 279,319 complaints of mobile theft, a figure that is equivalent to one theft every two minutes. According to these data, mobile thefts increased 19% in the period.
The first impulse of those who live this experience may consist of mentally remembering the places visited and undoing the path traveled in the hope of finding it. This can be useful for keys or an umbrella, but for a high-value item, we are less likely to locate the device this way. What to do then to get it back?
A call or try to locate the mobile using software
The first thing to remember is that, in the event of loss or theft – especially in this second case – time is money and you must act quickly. It is very possible that the mobile phone has fallen out of our pocket or we have left it on the table in a cafeteria or in a bathroom sink. If this is the case, the fastest way is to call our number from another mobile and send a text message indicating the owner’s coordinates. It is very likely that the device is in the hands of someone who has found it and does not know how to return it.
If no one answers, we must try to locate the device without further delay from the platform itself. Both Android and iPhone have integrated location systems, so that it is enough to search for them from another device or through the web (having accessed from the Google or iCloud account, respectively).
Locating an Android
An Android mobile can be located using another device with which it shares a Google account through the application Google Find My Device, O well, from the web browser itself just googling “find my phone.” “You just have to log in with the same Google account that you have associated with the phone,” explains David Freire, from the Andro4all blog, “and so you can see the location in real time or the last registered location if the mobile is turned off. and also make it ring, block it or erase all the content of the mobile ”. The latter is especially interesting in the event of theft, since thieves are prevented from accessing private information or using the device to enter current accounts or other sites with sensitive content.
Locating an iPhone
On Apple’s mobile platform, the recovery options are basically the same as on Android: locate the iPhone from another device in the ecosystem with which it shares an iCloud account and the app. Search my Iphone, or do it from the web. With both solutions, not only will the exact location of the device be known, but it will also be able to emit a powerful sound or erase and disable it remotely. “If we suspect that we have been victims of a robbery, the most convenient thing is to remotely block the iPhone,” says Pedro Aznar, director of the Applesfera blog. In this sense, Apple has listed a sequence of actions to be adopted immediately in case of theft or loss.
How to anticipate the loss or theft of the mobile: measures to adopt
The best protection measure against a possible theft or loss of the mobile is to prevent it from happening and protect the device. In this sense, the National Police recall that “it is essential that we have the screen lock activated so that no one can easily access the content.” If this locking system uses biometric methods (by fingerprint or face), as is the case in many of the latest generation mobiles, the level of protection will be higher.
The second thing that should be done as a precautionary measure is to write down the IMEI, the DAYS unequivocal of each terminal. Why is it important to keep this number safe? Because it will serve us a posteriori to carry out complaints or possible insurance claims. To know the IMEI of the phone, just type the sequence *#06#; In the case of not having pointed it out, the operator will be able to help us locate this code, although for security reasons, it will be a complicated process.
Although the function is not designed for this, the emergency data can be useful for the police to locate the owner of a mobile that has been handed over to the authorities by a citizen. This data is displayed on the screen even if it is locked with the intention of being useful for emergency teams in the event of an accident or blackout, and the data of the owner and their emergency contacts are displayed. This information can be used by the authorities to return a located mobile. How is this data entered? In Android, it must be activated in Settings / Phone information / Emergency information; on the iPhone, the app should be opened Health/ Medical information / Emergency contacts.
In case of theft, report
If the loss of the mobile is due to theft or theft, it should be reported as soon as possible. The National Police emphasize that “it is important to inform the telephone company and go to the police station as soon as possible to report the incident.” Notifying the operator of the theft is decisive, not so much because there may eventually be charges for calls on the phone, but because the device can be a key to access the checking account and even make transfers using two-step verification. The sooner the line is blocked, the better.
The police also recommend filing a complaint at the police station “providing the IMEI number of the device, which identifies it in a way and whose digits will allow the device to be linked with the complaint, so that, if it is located, we can contact the owner ”. The report will also serve for possible insurance claims, if our policy covers theft.
The privacy issue is also shared by cybersecurity experts: “The biggest problem with loss and theft is privacy, all our contacts, our photos and our social networks will be exposed, not to mention that we can even leave the door open to the data and networks of our company ”, warns Jorge Pages, from WathGuard-Cytomic. For this expert, it is very important to “install a program that allows erasure or location on the device.” Pages highlights another factor to consider: data loss if the device is not recovered. “It is essential to make backup copies,” he explains, “because the feeling of frustration and concern that is generated either when someone is stolen or loses their devices is enormous.”
You can follow EL PAÍS TECNOLOGÍA at Facebook Y Twitter or sign up here to receive our newsletter semanal.
elpais.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.