Losing a smartphone is one of the worst
nightmares that can happen to you, especially if
the device is one of the high-end handsets that
cost you a fortune.
Recently, a friend came to me looking utterly
distraught. “My phone is gone!” he declared. I
could see tears rolling down from his eyes. His
sadness and worries were clearly visible and
palpable.
The phone that he had lost was an expensive
Android phone he had bought about two weeks
earlier. With the technology offered in the latest
smartphones, he had his entire business and
personal life uploaded to that phone. His emails,
photos (some of which were pretty sensitive)
and contacts were all there. This is not to
mention how easily one could get into his social
media accounts, as well as online and mobile
banking accounts through the phone.
My friend obviously had a million reasons in this
world to feel like a chicken with its head cut off.
He had gone to the bank and placed the phone
on a bench as he was filling out some forms.
A couple of minutes after leaving the banking
hall, he remembered that he no longer had
possession of his phone. He rushed back to the
bank, but his frantic search for the phone was
not successful. The staff at the bank even went
over the CCTV footage but owing to the large
amount of human traffic in the banking hall,
nothing conclusive was found.
My friend had an Android Device Manager in his
phone. Android Device Manager has some remote
phone tracking capabilities. My friend had
already tried to call his phone number, but there
was no response.
This could have been coincidental because the
phone’s battery was already dying at the time he
was at the bank, however, it could probably be
that whoever had picked it had already removed
and most likely replaced the SIM.
Since the phone was synced to his online Google
credentials, Android Device Manager would help
to locate the phone when the phone was
connected to the internet through mobile or Wi-
Fi. It is also possible to lock or wipe my friend’s
credentials remotely using Android Device
Manager.
We, therefore, used my friend’s details to log into
Android Device Manager Web portal.
Unfortunately, we could not trace the phone. This
could have resulted from the person resetting it
to factory settings. If this had happened, then we
would have better luck finding a pin in a
haystack than tracing the phone!
Nonetheless, we used Android Manager to set a
message on the phone’s lock screen. The
message was simple “if you find this phone;
please contact me on XX-XXX-XXXX a cash
reward of ….. Naira will be given.” We even
changed the phone name to read the same
message.
If we did not get a reply in the next few days, we
would have to remotely wipe the data on the
phone, block the phone and deactivate the SIM.
My friend, on the other hand, had already given
up and was planning on saving up for a new
phone. Nonetheless, two hours later, the kind
stranger who had picked the phone called. We
planned a meeting where he obtained his reward,
and we received the phone.
There are a few lessons that we can pick up
from this experience.
In case you lose your phone:
• Do not panic; calmly retrace your steps to
where you last remember having the phone. Try
calling your phone and ask around if anyone has
seen it.
• Ensure that the phone is locked; this is a
precaution that you ought to take before you lose
the phone. Locking your phone with a PIN or
password will keep the personal details safe in
the event of your phone disappearing.
• Install a tracker app in your phone; having
Android Device Manager or Find My iPhone may
not be adequate. There are several third party
apps that are excellent phone trackers. Such
apps will be of great help in finding your phone.
Use the phone tracker software to find your
phone.
• Leave a message on the phone; the phone
tracing app should easily help you put a
message on the phone’s lock-screen. Let anyone
who finds the phone know how he or she can
reach you. The message had better be simple
and straightforward. Incentives such as cash can
be promised for returning the phone.
• Do not judge; it would be wrong to assume
that whoever has your phone stole it. It could be
that the individual picked it up with no bad
intention. Your interactions with the finder
should, therefore, be positive.
• Contact your mobile provider; this is especially
important if you are on a post-paid talk-time
plan. Calling the mobile provider will not only
deactivate the SIM but will also help you block
the phone.
• Finally, when meeting the person who finds
your phone; be cautious. Meet in a public place
and have a friend or two to accompany you.
Someone reading this might be asking; is this
possible in Nigeria? I’d say yes because aside
my friend, someone has actually returned my
phone that dropped while stepping out of the car
and after we met and he is back, I gave him a
cash reward.
P.s: Leave ur comments .
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