Sometimes in life, troubles happen. One of them may be the case when someone steals someone else’s phone for profit. It happens that due to the condition of the device you cannot get a lot of money - the phone may turn out to be old, broken or inexpensive to begin with. But the former owner of the device is upset, if only because someone takes possession of all the personal files and data. Agree, it’s unpleasant.
In order to prevent this development of the situation, you just need to block your phone. In this article we will talk about how to block your phone if it is stolen, as well as what actions you should take next.
We distinguish between the concepts of phone and SIM card
At the very beginning, I would like to distinguish between two concepts, and they need to be distinguished: this is the phone itself (physical device) and the SIM card that is installed in it. In order to prevent attackers from seeing your private correspondence, photos and other data, it is enough to have a security key (password) on your smartphone. If you have a device running on the Android or iOS operating system, then without resetting all settings, thieves will not be able to access your files. Therefore, if they perform such a reset, all the information you left on the device will be deleted. Even without completely blocking the phone.
The function of this blocking is different: it is to prevent scammers from selling your phone. Read on to learn how this is done.
As for the SIM card, it is blocked so that scammers cannot make calls from your number and vice versa - no one calls your number. The card is also blocked if a copy is made from the operator (as victims of mobile thefts often do). Those who want to deactivate the card ask how to block the number. We'll talk about this in the next chapter.
Making your SIM card stop functioning is very simple. Just call the operator and ask to deactivate your number. To confirm the action, you will need the following information: 3-4 numbers to which calls were most often made, information about the status of the account, as well as information about the last replenishment of the balance. It is not necessary to name every penny - it is important to simply show that you are oriented, at least approximately. This is all the instructions on how to block a phone number. The operator will accept the application and disconnect the card from the network.
In this regard, it is worth noting the following: as a rule, attackers independently remove the card as quickly as possible from the stolen device. We will explain the reason for this a little further. At this stage, you understand how to block a number, it is not difficult at all. This action will not affect the phone, but will make the card itself a useless piece of plastic.
As for deactivating the device, the procedure is approximately the same. Just like blocking a phone number, you can ask to turn off the device itself. True, this requires more information than just the most popular numbers, balance and replenishment. It is important to know the secret 15-digit code that identifies each mobile phone. It's called IMEI. By communicating this value to the operator, you can render your device unusable.
Some operators provide instructions on how to lock your phone. MTS, for example, reports that this procedure must be done as quickly as possible - before the thief manages to remove the SIM card from the device. If you don’t have time, it will be more difficult to establish where the phone is.
In order for everything to happen as it should, you must promptly, immediately after the theft, again contact the operator and, by dictating the IMEI, ask to block the device. If you have time, the phone will stop functioning even when the SIM card is removed from it in the future.
What is IMEI and how to find it?
However, if you are wondering how to lock your phone if it is stolen, it is important to clarify one thing about this 15-digit code. There are two ways to find it. The first is to dial the combination *06#, which will show the code assigned to your device on the screen. It works on any device model. The second method is the original box in which the mobile device was sold. You can also find IMEI there.
Ideally, the victim of the scam will contact the operator and provide them with the code as soon as possible after the theft. Accordingly, for this she needs to have IMEI at hand. Which of us carries this 15-digit number with us? Many people don't even know about its existence.
Knowing how to lock your phone if it's stolen is only half the battle. In fact, the task of any owner is not only to make what was stolen useless, but also to return the thing. For this, you need to contact the nearest police station, where you will receive a statement regarding the incident. Law enforcement officers will have to write down the IMEI number for further searches for the device, and at the same time they will take from you a description of the person you suspect, and perhaps find out some additional information.
The procedure for contacting the police is actually more important than searching for information on how to block a lost phone. Therefore, both of these actions must be completed as quickly as possible.
The police (or rather, the district department) will accept your statement about the theft, after which they will begin to develop it in the so-called “K9raquo;” department. This is where information regarding your case will be forwarded. The specialists of this unit receive instructions exclusively from the police, so you should not try to contact them directly.
Law enforcement officers will contact mobile operators and look for where the device with the number you specified in the application was registered. As soon as the signal from it is “detected”, an operational group will be sent there, which will find out how this or that person got this device.
Remember: the operator can find out the location of the device only after appropriate requests from the police. He has no right to do this on his own initiative. Therefore, you need to demand that your item be returned to you not from him, but from the police.
Programs to protect your device
Finally, if you use a smartphone, in addition to the question of how to lock your phone if it is stolen, you may also be wondering how to manage your device yourself. In this regard, Apple proposed an interesting solution by equipping phones with AppleID.
For Android, there are some third-party apps that can take photos from a stolen phone and send it online, send messages to the screen, and so on. Of course, such solutions are not suitable for simple phones.
The need to block a phone by IMEI usually arises as a result of the theft or loss of a mobile device. Many users know that each smartphone has a unique factory number that allows it to be uniquely identified. Blocking a gadget by IMEI should prevent the possibility of its further use by an attacker. However, in practice, it is almost impossible to block your phone. This is due to a number of technical restrictions and legal procedures. However, what should the victim do after losing the phone? Let’s try to understand the situation.
What is IMEI and why is it needed?
Each cell phone owner has three unique numbers. This is the factory number of the cellular device IMEI, the unique subscriber identifier of the IMSI network and the usual number to which MSISDN calls are received. When you turn on the phone and register it on the network, the encoded IMSI and IMEI values are transmitted to the operator, after which the operator matches your MSISDN phone number using the IMSI code. On the one hand, IMEI is not involved in the process of obtaining a real number and registering on the network. This is why you can easily use the same SIM card in different phones, while maintaining your number. However, the cellular operator has the opportunity to refuse the phone when registering on the network if the IMEI is on the blacklist.
However, in practice, quite a few problems arise with blocking a phone by IMEI. The mobile operator cannot respond to direct requests from citizens; blocking is an emergency measure, possible only upon receipt of an application from law enforcement agencies. However, despite the technical capabilities, IMEI blocking is practically never used. The main problem is the presence of non-unique IMEIs that appear on the market due to flashing of devices and the import of cheap uncertified equipment from China. Thus, it turns out that from 10 to 20% of all mobile phones on the market have non-unique IMEI numbers. In most cases, after receiving a report of a stolen phone, the police will try to determine its location and find the new owner.
If your phone is stolen, you must contact the district department of internal affairs in whose territory the theft took place. You will need to have your passport, the original packaging of the gadget with the IMEI number and a receipt confirming the fact of purchase of the mobile phone. In relation to the incident, it is necessary to draw up a statement containing all the necessary details. In case of refusal to accept the application, you should ask for a written statement of refusal to initiate a case, with which you can contact the prosecutor's office. In fact, the police do not have the right to refuse to accept an application. Although, they may point out that they have a lot of such cases and still can’t find a phone number.
After registering the application, you will need to confirm your right to the specified phone number, for this you will need packaging, documents and a receipt. After this, you must receive a receipt with the case number and its date. In the near future you will be able to meet with the investigator who will be assigned this case. After this, law enforcement agencies will attempt to find the telephone and its new owner. This is only possible if it finds itself on the network with an old IMEI number. In this case, you can hope to return the phone, but in most cases scammers reflash the gadget, and it is very difficult to find such a device.
How to block a phone by IMEI
In order to understand how to block a phone by IMEI, you need to refer to the knowledge and information of the help portal for mobile subscribers x-tarif.ru. Why? – Today, the issue of blocking a particular mobile device is a fairly pressing problem, since cell phones can be lost very often. Or expose yourself to an increased risk of being robbed on public transport. In general, there can be a lot of situations, so it is important to understand how to solve them within a short period of time. For example, today there are several ways to work with blocking, so the site for helping mobile subscribers suggests reading them all for yourself and deciding on a few parting words:
- What exactly can be done?
- What actions are you supposed to do on your own?
- What will happen in the end?
It is worth noting that antivirus functions for phones cannot always help in detecting this or that malicious code. Rumor has it that now even using a program on your phone you can check his location via satellite. Of course, hackers do this in no particular order. In order not to expose yourself to problems, you can block your cell phone using the IMEI code. What is this anyway?
Today, IMEI should be understood as a unique abbreviation that allows every person to know:
- When was the phone released?
- What is its serial code
- Other details of the device
Perhaps there are now sites on the Internet that offer to understand what remote phone locking is. This system does not allow us to say for sure whether it works or not. In essence, these are technologies of the future. You can block a phone from a distance only through mobile network operators, that is, remove the ability to make calls from it. In other words, deactivate the SIM card. You can find out more about this problem on site from the workers, who will tell you exactly what needs to be done to solve the problem in a short time. As a rule, you will need to write an application and prove your identity to the workers through a passport.
IMPORTANT: Blocking a phone via satellite is only possible in exceptional cases. For example, such a situation and the need to block a particular device may arise in relation to a criminal or another user whose case has a wide resonance. It is for this reason that it is unlikely that a complete blocking will be possible. But there is a unique system called “Android Device Manager”, which you can get acquainted with on the Internet. It allows you to find cellular devices even when they are lost, seemingly irretrievably. Perhaps she can block phones.
We block or try to block: how does this happen?
Blocking a phone via SMS is the same as what exactly needs to be done using a satellite. The average person will not be able to solve the problem just like that, since the maximum action in this case is to contact the office of the mobile company in order for people to help solve the problem. On site you will need:
- Show your passport
- Describe the problem and its solution through blocking
- To write an application
In this case, the SIM card will be completely deactivated, so you can use it only after removing the block.
If for some reason the phone was in the databases, you can try to solve the problem through IMEI. In general, how to block a phone by IMEI? – There is an answer to this question, since employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the FSB have definitely dealt with this. If the subscriber has friends or acquaintances in similar departments, you can and even should try to solve the problem through them, since this is the only way you can put a block on your phone in time and never return to the issue of deliberately using money on the card.
You can install protection on your phone through services on the Internet. The most popular is ANTI-THEFT. You can download it on the Internet; installation and activation do not take much time. The only thing is that you can take analogues if, for one reason or another, the specified utility is not suitable for the subscriber.
IMPORTANT: We remind every reader of the site that it is necessary to download the application to protect a mobile device ONLY on the official websites of companies. In this case, you can count on a purely working assembly that will not allow the phone to work crookedly or freeze at the wrong time. On the other hand, we must not forget that scammers operate on the Internet, so their websites have an SMS option for a file. You shouldn’t buy into this, because in 100% of cases such a scam is nothing more than a fraud.
You can also install protection yourself. For example, an option is to work with a graphic key. Not everyone knows how to bypass it, so in certain cases the thief or the person who found the cell phone will have problems deactivating it. In turn, if subscribers have questions about this, you can read our website, since in the “Site Map” section you can search for the desired article.
You can deactivate the graphic key through:
- Reinstalling the software
- Entering security test mode and performing a full reset
As a note, every user can use articles from x-tarif.ru at any time of the day, since they are created in such a way as to help everyone who needs help. Today, the portal’s clients and readers are several tens of thousands of people every day, so you can start resolving issues with your mobile phone right now.
Do not hesitate to ask questions in the form of comments, since this is how you can get an answer to your question or simply communicate with the administration or other users of the site.
Attention, TODAY only!
If your phone, tablet or laptop is lost or stolen, follow these steps to find it and protect your data.
Even if you can't return your device, our instructions will help protect the information on it.
Step 1: Find your device and protect your data
You can perform some actions remotely, such as calling your device, locking it, or logging out of your account.
Lost your Windows, macOS or Linux computer? Such devices are not shown in the Find My Phone list. Go to step 2.
Other options
- If you've lost your iPhone, learn how to find and protect your device using iCloud.
- Contact your mobile operator to:
- enable call forwarding to another number;
- order a new SIM card;
- block the SIM card so that it is impossible to make calls or send messages from it.
Device is not listed
Make sure you're signed in to the correct Google account on the device you're currently using.
- The lost device must be signed in to a Google Account in a Google app such as Gmail or YouTube.
- Windows, Mac OS, and Linux computers do not appear in the Find My Phone list.
If your device is not listed, change your Google Account password.
Step 2: Change your Google Account password
- Open the Google Account page. Sign in if necessary.
- Under Security, select Sign in to your Google account.
- Click Password. If prompted, sign in again.
- Enter your new password and click Change password.
Step 3: Change saved passwords
Your lost device may have fallen into the hands of others, so we recommend changing the passwords saved on your device or Google Account.
- Go to passwords.google.com.
- Sign in to your Google account.
- Find the "Saved Passwords" list.
- This list includes passwords saved in your account, not on your lost device.
- To change each password, you must open the application or website.
- Change your passwords.
Advice. Monitor your accounts to prevent illegal withdrawals.
Keep track of your bank card statements. If you find suspicious transactions, report them to your card company.
Locking Android may be required if your smartphone is lost or stolen. This tool allows you to erase all user data from a mobile device, as well as limit its functionality for a while, making further management of the device impossible. You can activate remote control of your phone using both the capabilities built into the operating system and through special programs. Let's look at how to block Android if it is stolen or lost.
Locking a smartphone through the standard Android menu
Starting from version Android 5.0, you can block a mobile device via the Internet using the integrated “Android Remote Control” function. For earlier builds, you will need to download the application of the same name from the Play Market.
Remote phone locking is carried out through the Google service. To successfully complete this procedure, three conditions must be met:
- The stolen or lost gadget must be connected to the Internet. It does not matter what type of connection is used - mobile or Wi-Fi.
- The smartphone must be linked to a Google account.
- The corresponding function must be running on the device.
If everything is clear with the first point, then certain difficulties may arise with the rest. Therefore, they should be discussed in more detail.
In order for the owner of a smartphone to have the ability to remotely block it, you first need to pair the device with the Google virtual service. This is done as follows:
After linking is completed, you need to log into the Google Settings application and open the Security tab. Then click on the “Device Administrators” item, check the appropriate boxes and launch remote control by clicking “Activate”. 
By setting up the remote control function on your phone, if your device is stolen or lost, you can perform a number of actions with it: change the password, reset the settings to factory settings, or lock it. To do this you need:
This service also provides the opportunity to write a message and set a phone number. Now, if someone finds your gadget, the relevant information will be displayed on its screen, which can be used to find the owner of the mobile device. 
Blocking a smartphone using additional software
If your device does not have a built-in remote control function, you can block your Android mobile device using special software. You can easily find it on the Play Market. One such program is Android Lost, which can be downloaded from Google Play absolutely free.
To unlock all the features of this application, you will need Root rights. To get them, use the Framaroot utility:
After obtaining Superuser rights, you will need to activate the remote blocking feature. To do this you need:
Now, if you lose your smartphone, you will need to do the following:
Now a locked device will require a PIN code when turned on. 
Russia has figured out how to deal with phone thefts and “gray” mobile phones that entered the country without customs clearance. To do this, they will create a system for monitoring cellular devices using unique IMEI codes.
In Russia, the criminal market for mobile phones can be defeated. As it turned out, this is easy to do: there is no need to create special police squads, it is enough to simply block all phones stolen and illegally imported into the country. Especially for this purpose, they will introduce a system for monitoring phones using unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) codes.
How the control and blocking system works
The scheme will work simply. As soon as a person's mobile phone is stolen, he will have the opportunity to block the device. And only the owner can unlock it, so criminals who steal other people’s mobile phones will have no chance.
The same principle will apply to devices that entered the country through a “gray” scheme and did not undergo official customs clearance. And now, according to experts, every tenth mobile phone in Russia is one of these. Devices included in the “black list” will not work in any Russian cellular network.
This method of combating the illegal cell phone market was proposed by the government's expert council, and the temporary commission of the Federation Council for the development of the information society last week reviewed and supported the initiative, the Federation Council said in a statement.
The phone was stolen. What to do?
To protect yourself, you need to contact any mobile phone store in advance and link your mobile phone and SIM card. As soon as a person’s phone is stolen, he can contact the operator and ask to block the lost device. The only documents you will need for this procedure are your passport.
The operator will check the phone's IMEI with the one associated with your SIM card. To be even more convincing, you can have documents with you on your mobile phone, where all its “details” will be indicated. After verification, the mobile device will be blocked.
If there was no such binding, the device will be blocked after the network operator makes sure that you are asking to block your phone and not taking revenge on your neighbor. To check, it will be enough to name the last transactions made using the phone: calls, SMS, tariff plan, balance, etc.
The program will not work immediately. As is usually the case, it takes some time to check and run the entire scheme.
In Russia they will begin to block stolen cell phones. Image: Ivan VISLOV/KP
How to lock your phone yourself
However, experts are skeptical about the innovation and note that the project was “pulled out from under the carpet.”
“The proposed project is morally outdated. This scheme was relevant 10 years ago, and today almost any phone has a remote locking function, for example, “Find iPhone,” but not everyone uses it. This is a double innovation. The owner has the opportunity to independently block his phone and does not have to go anywhere. In addition, new methods of device protection (unlocking with a fingerprint, pattern code, face recognition function) make it very difficult to handle stolen devices. If the phone was stolen not for resale, but for spare parts, then no device functions or bills will save it,” said website Eldar Murtazin, leading analyst at Mobile Research Group.
In two to three years, it is planned to collect a common database of all mobile phones in the country. And if some devices work without registration in the system, the mobile operator will turn them off automatically. But before the blocking occurs, owners will receive notifications that they need to clarify the status of their gadgets, Vedomosti writes. At whose expense such a database will be maintained has not yet been specified.
Will the system work?
Despite the authorities’ confidence in this method, users on the forums doubt that this will yield results: “Phones are stolen not to sell, but for spare parts, stole a mobile phone and sold it on Avito for 3 thousand for spare parts,” writes one of the users .
In this case, blocking really won’t help. It is unlikely that the cellular network operator will have the technical capabilities to disable the device even when disassembled. Some craftsmen note that the device can be reflashed in such a way that its IMEI changes.
“Indeed, such an opportunity now exists, and there is no criminal penalty for it. If the new bill proposed to introduce responsibility for changing the individual number of the device, then the complex would be more useful than today,” sums up Murtazin.
What do we do if we lose our bank card? We call your bank and ask the operator to block the card to avoid loss of funds. After that, it turns into a useless piece of plastic - the blocking is effective. Is it possible to block an iPhone if it is lost? Yes, there really is such an opportunity if you use iCloud and its Find iPhone service for this.
Let's see what to do if your smartphone is stolen or lost.
How to block an iPhone if it is stolen? Here you need to hope that you know how to use your smartphone and are familiar with its rich functionality. Therefore, first we will talk about preparing the iPhone. Apple has gone to great lengths to provide users with the ability to locate their lost or stolen iPhone. But this requires preliminary preparation of the gadget. So, in order to block the iPhone if it goes missing, we need remote access to this device.
Access is configured when you turn on your smartphone for the first time - go to settings, go to the iCloud section and enter Apple ID there. If you do not have an account, register one in the same window. After this, enter your registration data in the authorization window. Congratulations, you now have a key to access all Apple services.
If necessary, you can register for an Apple ID account using your computer by going to the Apple website and filling out the appropriate form. As soon as you turn on the device for the first time, enter the received data into it.
After you've entered your Apple ID, select Find My iPhone and move the checkbox until it turns green. Next, activate the “Last geolocation” checkbox so that you can quickly find the last location of your smartphone. Now everything is ready for detection and remote locking in case of theft or loss of the device.
Lock iPhone
How to block an iPhone if it is stolen? To do this, you need to do the following - pick up another iOS device (with your Apple ID) and install the Find My iPhone application on it. This will help you block and find your phone. Once you log into the app, you will see a map showing the location of your lost or stolen device. If the dot glows green, the iPhone is online.
You cannot call your own number if your iPhone is stolen or lost - this way you can provoke an attacker to turn off the device, which will lead to loss of access.
So, how to block an iPhone if it is stolen? Let's move on to the most important thing - remote blocking. To do this, you need to activate the lost mode in the application. After this, a message will be displayed on the device screen, which is entered into the appropriate field. Here we can enter the phrase “Please, if you found my phone, call the number XXX-XX-XX” or “This phone is lost - contact the address such and such.”
If you manage to lose your smartphone, it may (or may not) be returned using the specified data. If you know for sure that the smartphone has been stolen, you can indicate your personal information in the message and ask to return the device for money. Please note that a locked smartphone will require you to enter a password. An attacker can enter anything there and specify any passwords - only the correct password set by the user will work.
The Lost Mode password is a four-digit number - try not to use combinations that are easy to guess. Devices with a fingerprint scanner are unlocked by your own touch—the iPhone will not respond to an intruder’s fingerprints.
It is very easy to block an iPhone via iCloud - an attacker or someone who finds your personal smartphone will only have to admire the message you left. If at the time of blocking the device was not connected to the Internet, then the blocking will definitely turn on the first time you connect. You can also track the location of your lost device. If you detect that it is near you, you can activate the sound alarm.
Blocking via browser
Don't have another iOS device handy? Then you can lock your iPhone via iCloud using any computer connected to the Internet. To do this, you need to go to the iCloud website, enter your Apple ID and activate Lost Mode. Here you will see a map with the current location (or last location) of your device. That is, The functionality of the site completely replicates the functionality of the Find iPhone application..
What to do if time passes and no one returns your smartphone? What if there is important or confidential data left on your iPhone? In this case, you can remove the lock and perform a remote data erase - all important files, photos and videos, as well as credit and debit card data will be immediately deleted. In this case, you will lose the ability to track the location of your device.
Do not remove the device from your account after remote wiping - this will remove the activation lock, after which the attacker who stole your smartphone will be able to re-activate and use the device as if nothing had happened.
Please note that once you enable Find My iPhone on your smartphone, it will turn on Activation Lock. What does this mean? Even if an attacker ignores the message indicated on the screen asking to return the smartphone and tries to restore or flash it (in order to activate with a different Apple ID), he will fail - the developers claim that it is almost impossible to bypass the activation lock. That's why we recommend turning on Find My iPhone as soon as you purchase your device.
You also need to remember that this functionality works via the Internet, so your iPhone must be connected to the network - take care of this in advance. The Find My iPhone feature is quite successful at locating lost and stolen devices, but it still wouldn't hurt to file a theft report with the police.
An attacker will be able to steal an iPhone that does not have Find My iPhone enabled. In this case, a statement to the police will be another opportunity to return the stolen device (if the police agree to accept the statement).
If you're tired of your operator
Guys, we know very well that operators raise prices and force subscribers to connect to services that the latter do not want to use. Fortunately, now there is a great opportunity to move to another operator with your number. There are virtual operators that provide very good rates and cool perks when porting a number. One of them is Tinkoff Mobile, which is increasingly being chosen by visitors to our site.
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