A reader writes:

okay this isn’t exactly about phones being tapped. My friend was at a party and bent over to pick up something. Her cell phone had fallen out of her purse and she saw it and reached to get it. Right then and there some kid grabbed it and ran off. They couldn’t find him and went back to the place 2 times looking all over. Her phone is like her life… she has probabley 100 numbers.. and now they are going to have all her friends numbers, e-mails, and screen names. She doesn’t know what to do and i’ve been searching the whole internet for someone with advice. I am aware that the last resort is to shut off the phone but she is just at the begining of a second 2 year contract, meaning that she would have to pay it off if it wasn’t found. There must be some way of tracking it but i am not exactly the smartest person in the world to think of how. Thankfully her battery is dead becuase it was dying when she lost it. They could buy a charger, i guess.

Dear Reader,

Every cell phone has a unique electronic serial number called an IMEI. Your friend should call her cell phone company immediately and report the phone as stolen. The cell phone company can then flag that phone, so that if anyone tries to use it or activate it they can contact law enforcement. Chances are the phone will be sold at a pawn shop or sold on E-bay.

Your friend should also call your local police department and report the cell phone stolen. After the poilce department issues a report - she should give the report # to the cell phone company.

As far as the information on the cell phone, unless the phone was a “smartphone” and she backed up the information on a computer, the data would be lost.

Best,

Nathan

APA Citation:
Smith, Nathan. M. (2007). What do I do if my cell phone is stolen?.
Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.computer-forensic-technician.com/wordpress/what-do-i-do-if-my-cell-phone-is-stolen/.