How to block a stolen cell phone

In recent times the theft or robbery of mobile phones it has become the number one crime in big cities.

Thieves and “sloths” are everywhere, and no matter how many precautions people take, chances are many will have theirs smartphones.

Therefore, you must act quickly to prevent criminals from selling it on the “black market” or using the personal data contained in the phone. Everything you need to know how to block a stolen phone.

How to block a stolen cell phone

Of course, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, you need to protect the smartphone with PIN which has eight alphanumeric characters that are difficult to guess and completes it with a biometric measure (recognition of the face or fingerprints).

But if, despite everything, the phone falls into someone else’s hands, you need to act quickly, because thieves immediately turn it off, take the SIM card and take it to a place away from wireless connections.

The easiest way to lock your smartphone consists of dial *910 from any other telephone, whether mobile or landline. This allows you to void the line and block the stolen device. In case of recovery, it can be reactivated, and in case of buying a new one, it can be used with the same number. To do this, contact the company that manages the line, who will indicate the steps to follow.

For locate a device with Android operating system You have to google find my device. This site will show the near exact location of the device and three options: Play Sound (phone will ring for five minutes); secure your device (lock your phone) and erase data from your device. There is also an app, Find my mobile, with the same functions, from which you can download play store.

Important: for location tracking to work, you must have it activated on your mobile phone. To do this, go to Settings, Security and Find my device.

For the phones with iOS system, iPhone, you have to go to the Find my phone site. Other options, such as location, include the activation block which works as soon as the Find Your Device app is activated which, as of 2019, also works if you are disconnected from a Wi-Fi network.

Another issue to highlight is unlink the stolen phone from associated accounts itself, such as email. In the case of Gmail, go to Manage your Google Account and Security to disconnect the stolen device.

As for the social networkswill have to change password as soon as possible so that criminals cannot access it from your smartphone. In this case, it can be useful to enable a second factor of authentication (such as an SMS message), since only the person who has access to the mobile will be able to access the account and if it has been blocked, it will be impossible.