Five steps to take when you discover your phone is missing

Misplacing a device or having one stolen is a stressful occurrence. Along with the inconvenience of no longer having a smartphone or tablet comes the risk of unauthorised access to banking accounts and the potential for identity theft. With this in mind, Kaspersky experts have released a practical, minute-by-minute action plan for the moment you realise your phone is missing.

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Step 1: Try to locate it via another device

The first step that could help to find your phone is to activate the Find My Device feature for Android or Find My for iOS to locate it. You can enter your Google or Apple ID account from another device and see the list of devices linked to the account. Kaspersky for Android users can locate their device using the “Where Is My Device” feature via the My Kaspersky web portal. It is important that, in order to use any functionality related to the device location, all those features must be activated in advance.

Step 2: Block your phone and watch for scammers

After logging into the account and finding the missing device in the device list, set it to “Lost” mode. After that, click the “Вlock” button. You can set a new password, as well as add a message or a contact number that the person who found the phone will see. If the device is not connected to the Internet, the lock will take effect as soon as it connects.

Along with locating the device, Kaspersky for Android users can go beyond simple locking:

Turn on a loud alarm, even if the phone is on silent. Perfect for finding it under a couch or forcing a thief to abandon it.
Take a Mugshot. On devices with a front camera, Kaspersky captures a photo of the person currently using your phone. This evidence can be shared with authorities. Kaspersky’s Mugshot feature works even if the thief ignores native lock commands.

Stay cautious; if the phone falls into the hands of intruders, they may try to contact you and extort personal data to access the phone. It’s highly recommended to warn your friends and relatives about the device loss, whilst your mobile phone can be used for calls or messages from your number with requests for money or questions, all of which should be ignored.

Step 3: Block access – SIM, bank cards, passwords

Promptly contact the mobile operator and block your SIM card, so you will eliminate the risk of using it for unscrupulous purposes. Also, contact your bank to block any cards linked to the device or unlink those accounts.

After that, think about resetting passwords for all important services and logging out of your accounts wherever possible. If you use a password manager, change its master password to protect all saved credentials.

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If you’ve enabled SIM Watch in Kaspersky’s app in advance, the solution automatically blocks the device the moment someone inserts a new SIM card. This stops thieves from using their own SIM to bypass your locks.

Additionally, it’s recommended to protect the Kaspersky app itself from being uninstalled. Thieves often try to remove security apps first. Kaspersky’s anti-uninstall protection (one of the features of Where Is My Device) prevents the app from being removed and blocks changes to system settings – without your screen lock password.

Step 4: Check for the backups

As for other data such as photos, notes or messages stored on the phone, unfortunately, it will be only possible to restore it if you have backups or syncing with the cloud configured. If you had enabled device backups before the loss, you can restore almost everything, from contacts and photos to text messages.

Step 5: Remotely erase your device if there is no hope of finding it

In parallel with how you perform all the actions described above, it is highly recommended to report the loss to local authorities and follow their guidance. However, if you are certain that the phone cannot be recovered, the final recourse is to completely erase all data from the device. This can be performed via the Find My Device feature for Android, Find My for iOS or from the My Kaspersky web portal (for Android).

“In the routine of daily operations, it is easy to overlook how many critical aspects of our digital lives are tied to our mobile devices, and how seldom we consider that losing a phone may lead not only to inconvenience, but also to data loss, compromised access to essential accounts, or even identity theft. At Kaspersky, we think in advance for your safety, going beyond just an antivirus solution. We fully understand the risks and disruptions that a lost or stolen phone can cause. That is why our solutions are designed to mitigate those risks,” comments Dmitry Kalinin, Senior Malware Analyst at Kaspersky.

Step 0: Protect yourself in advance

Here are some additional steps that, if taken in advance, may significantly reduce the negative effects of losing the phone:

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Enable location tracking. Both Android and iOS have special functionality to track a phone’s location and remotely erase data from it. Kaspersky for Android provides this functionality with the Where Is My Device feature activated.

Allow automatic backups. Due to the regular backups, all photos, videos, documents, contacts, and other important data can be recovered if the phone goes missing.

Store all sensitive data in a protected format. Use a dedicated security solution like Kaspersky Password Manager, which, apart from securely keeping passwords, logins and bank cards, has a special secret vault functionality aimed at storing important documents, for example, scanned Passports/IDs and PDF files, addresses and notes.

Set immediate auto-locks. This ensures the phone is always locked when not actively being used, helping to prevent thieves or cybercriminals from accessing stored information.

Keep the phone physically secure. While being in a public place, avoid leaving a device unattended or easily accessible, such as on tables or in back pockets.