Phone lost

[catherine5288]

My mum lost her phone.  What should we do?

Thanks

Catherine

[darlicious]

@Yummy 

Yes and no....it means the SIM card is in a working phone that's powered on. Otherwise the call will go straight to voicemail message.

To contact customer support click below:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

To pre-verify your account include in your private messaging only your full name, address, email, phone # and 4 digit acct pin #.

[Yummy]

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@treefrog wrote:

@catherine5288 

I feel bad for your mom. If the phone rings thats kind of a good thing as it sounds like its still lost.

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Not necessarily. It means SIM is still active and phone might be already factory reset and sold at kijiji or used with different SIM.

[softech]

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@WoozyPolarBear wrote:

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Wouldn't this system of having a phone blacklisted by reporting a phone as lost or stolen be too easy for anyone to report any phone to be blacklisted? I could see someone just messing around and reporting someone elses phone as stolen to get it blacklisted purely out of spite or as a prank. Surely there must be a method to prove you are the owner of the phone before you can just blacklist it. Heck, it that isn't the case, I could just look up an IMEI database, and start blacklisting complete stranger's phones willy nilly.

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@WoozyPolarBear  OP has an iPhone, they have extra security in Apple activation.

Yes, in terms of messing around, it could happen, that's why we always warn people NOT to post them IMEI and names here.  People could do a lot with it.  

But with Carrier and PM , they should have them procedure to validate.  Like matching IMEI with the active phone on the account.  Like you cannot open ticket with PM to blacklist an IMEI that never appears on your account, they certainly won't do that.  So, pretty sure with PM, you cannot "just look up an IMEI database, and start blacklisting complete stranger's phones willy nilly."

[treefrog]

@catherine5288 

I feel bad for your mom. If the phone rings thats kind of a good thing as it sounds like its still lost.

[computergeek541]

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@WoozyPolarBear wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@Yummy wrote:

If you have written down her phone IMEI, report it so it will become blacklisted (useless for anybody who finds it).

Log in to her self-serving account and click on lost/stolen phone. That will suspend PM service immediately.

If you want to keep her phone number and eventually get her new phone, order new SIM right away from a source/retail you prefer at it will need at least a week to get one unless you get to physical store to pick it up.

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@catherine5288 

The above is good advice, but the reporting of the IMEI to have it blocked so that no one else can use it needs to be done seperately from enabling the lost/stolen option.  That itself won't prevent someone from using the device.  The blocking of the device itself requires you to take additional steps by contacting a customer support agent to make that reqeuest.

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Wouldn't this system of having a phone blacklisted by reporting a phone as lost or stolen be too easy for anyone to report any phone to be blacklisted? I could see someone just messing around and reporting someone elses phone as stolen to get it blacklisted purely out of spite or as a prank. Surely there must be a method to prove you are the owner of the phone before you can just blacklist it. Heck, it that isn't the case, I could just look up an IMEI database, and start blacklisting complete stranger's phones willy nilly.

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There really isn't anything preventing that except for procedure. Also, a police report isn't a requirement for a carrier to block an IMEI.  Most carriers have a rules in place that they will only block an IMEI if it has been used on the service in the recent history (a time such as 90 days).  Unfortuantely, IMEIs do sometimes get incorrectly or mistakenly blocked.

[WoozyPolarBear]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@Yummy wrote:

If you have written down her phone IMEI, report it so it will become blacklisted (useless for anybody who finds it).

Log in to her self-serving account and click on lost/stolen phone. That will suspend PM service immediately.

If you want to keep her phone number and eventually get her new phone, order new SIM right away from a source/retail you prefer at it will need at least a week to get one unless you get to physical store to pick it up.

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@catherine5288 

The above is good advice, but the reporting of the IMEI to have it blocked so that no one else can use it needs to be done seperately from enabling the lost/stolen option.  That itself won't prevent someone from using the device.  The blocking of the device itself requires you to take additional steps by contacting a customer support agent to make that reqeuest.

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Wouldn't this system of having a phone blacklisted by reporting a phone as lost or stolen be too easy for anyone to report any phone to be blacklisted? I could see someone just messing around and reporting someone elses phone as stolen to get it blacklisted purely out of spite or as a prank. Surely there must be a method to prove you are the owner of the phone before you can just blacklist it. Heck, it that isn't the case, I could just look up an IMEI database, and start blacklisting complete stranger's phones willy nilly.

[catherine5288]

I called my mum’s phone a few times but no one picked it up

[catherine5288]

Thank you.  I have a spare phone at home.  I will use it and get a new SIM card soon.

[darlicious]

@catherine5288 

Don't use lost/stolen yet while you try to locate the device so that the phone stays visible to other Apple devices. If possible send a SMS+iMessage to the phone that if is visible on the locked screen includes a contact # and an offer of a reward to encourage it to be returned. Monitor the account for usage and you can either suspend via lost/stolen or call the phone in hopes of contacting the person who finds the phone.

You can file a lost phone report online with local law enforcement to get police file report # if you will be blacklisting the phone and/or submitting an insurance claim. If you do not have the IMEI it can be obtained from customer support before performing a SIM swap. You will need the IMEI to file your police report. You can also enable lost/stolen on off to periodically call the phone in hopes someone will answer....voicemail stays active when service is suspended via lost/stolen. Good Luck!

To contact customer support click below:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

To pre-verify your account include in your private messaging only your full name, address, email, phone # and 4 digit acct pin #.

[softech]

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@catherine5288 wrote:

It’s an apple phone.  I want to locate it by using Find my app, but not quite sure how to use it😂😂

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@catherine5288   

Hope this helps you

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/how-to-find-your-iphone-even-if-its-turned-off-the-fastest-way-to-d...

If you cannot find it, Turn on Lost Mode

[catherine5288]

It’s an apple phone.  I want to locate it by using Find my app, but not quite sure how to use it😂😂

[computergeek541]

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@Meow wrote:

@computergeek541would you know exact steps to be taken and process itself reporting phone as lost/stolen in order to be really blacklisted and appear in this database (https://www.devicecheck.ca/check-status-device-canada/)

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A standard ticket via SIMon would need to be opened and the customer support agent would have to block the IMEI.  Sorry, but I don't have the exact phrases that need to be used in the chatbot for this.

[Meow]

@computergeek541would you know exact steps to be taken and process itself reporting phone as lost/stolen in order to be really blacklisted and appear in this database (https://www.devicecheck.ca/check-status-device-canada/)

[computergeek541]

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@Yummy wrote:

If you have written down her phone IMEI, report it so it will become blacklisted (useless for anybody who finds it).

Log in to her self-serving account and click on lost/stolen phone. That will suspend PM service immediately.

If you want to keep her phone number and eventually get her new phone, order new SIM right away from a source/retail you prefer at it will need at least a week to get one unless you get to physical store to pick it up.

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@catherine5288 

The above is good advice, but the reporting of the IMEI to have it blocked so that no one else can use it needs to be done seperately from enabling the lost/stolen option.  That itself won't prevent someone from using the device.  The blocking of the device itself requires you to take additional steps by contacting a customer support agent to make that reqeuest.

[Yummy]

If you have written down her phone IMEI, report it so it will become blacklisted (useless for anybody who finds it).

Log in to her self-serving account and click on lost/stolen phone. That will suspend PM service immediately.

If you want to keep her phone number and eventually get her new phone, order new SIM right away from a source/retail you prefer at it will need at least a week to get one unless you get to physical store to pick it up.

[esjliv]

@catherine5288  - ideally the phone is found of course.

Any luck calling it?

Or, do you know if there is a screen lock with a message on how to return if found?

[JL9 · Accepted solution]

What phone was it?

Do you have any other phones that are functional? As stated you can just pick up a new sim and use the same plan on that phone (or a new phone).

[catherine5288]

Thank you! I will try that

[esjliv]

@catherine5288  - 

See "How To Change Your SIM Card" at the bottom of this Help Article: https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/sim-swap-fraud

[softech]

@catherine5288   First login to My Account and click Lost/Stolen Phone from the Plan and Add-ons Tab to first suspend the service (https://selfserve.publicmobile.ca/Overview/plan-and-Add-ons/suspend-service/)

then, check your luck from FindMyPhone from the service you might have setup earlier:

Apple: https://www.apple.com/ca/icloud/find-my/

Google: https://myaccount.google.com/find-your-phone

Samsung: https://findmymobile.samsung.com/