Stolen phone: it can happen to anyone! But you can prevent thieves from accessing your important data.

If your smartphone is stolen, the damage can be much greater than just losing the device itself – your banking apps, important documents, photos, and videos in the hands of thieves can have devastating consequences. But there's no need to panic, because you can prevent this in advance – by taking the right security measures, thieves are left with a useless "brick" from which they cannot extract any personal data. Here's how to turn your smartphone into a fortress.

What can a thief do with a stolen smartphone?

First, let's briefly examine what can happen with a stolen phone and why it's important to secure your mobile from the start.

1. Dismantle and sell for parts

In most cases, smartphones are simply dismantled and sold for parts, especially if the phones are locked. If the thief only wants to steal a phone and does not intend to cause further damage, they probably will not attempt to hack the phone. Additionally, a powered-on smartphone with internet access poses an increased risk for thieves, as they can be more easily caught.

2. Withdraw money from the bank

However, in some cases, the possibility of extracting more money from the stolen mobile device is too tempting. This particularly applies to unlocked smartphones – for example, a phone that the thief snatches from the owner's hands or finds unattended. If the phone's owner is logged into a banking app at that moment, the thief can withdraw money or even apply for a loan.

Some banks offer their clients the service of transferring money by sending an SMS to a specific phone number. This makes stealing money a piece of cake, as all verification codes are sent to the stolen phone.

3. Format and sell

If a thief manages – usually with the help of social engineering – to log into your Google account or Apple ID and change the password, you can no longer lock the device remotely. The thief can then reset the smartphone to factory settings and sell it as a perfectly functional phone, which fetches much more money than the parts.

4. Use personal data for blackmail or simply publish it online

If thieves find important documents on your smartphone, they may threaten to delete the data or send it to your contacts. The same goes for files containing personal data that could embarrass you or someone else. A thief can copy and analyze the information from the Files app on an iPhone (essentially all iCloud content), the full storage data from an Android phone, and data from cloud storage accounts accessible via the smartphone.

Additionally, the thief can scour your conversations, for example in messaging apps, looking for interesting information. They may also try to hack your Facebook or Instagram account and, for example, ask your friends and acquaintances for money. Theoretically, the thief could also try to link your bank account to another device, but this is unlikely. To do so, the thief would need to keep the device powered on, increasing the risk of being caught.

ℹ️ If you follow our practical advice, the thief will have to settle for selling the parts of the stolen phone.

How to effectively secure your smartphone in case of theft?

Below are practical tips for securing your smartphone's data and how to restore your information on a new device if necessary.

1. Set up screen lock

Make sure that automatic screen lock is enabled. Android users can check this in the settings under Security. Note that Android device manufacturers design their user interfaces individually, so the steps may vary from phone to phone. For this blog post, we used Android 11 on a Google Pixel phone, as it is quite common. On iPhones, this option is found under Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode for iPhone 8 and earlier versions).

Not all types of screen locks offer the same level of security. For example, on Android, it is not advisable to rely on facial recognition, as some applications can be easily fooled with photos. In contrast, the iPhone's Face ID facial recognition is much more robust. A pattern lock can be easily spied on with a quick glance over your shoulder. Additionally, most patterns are not very original and easy to crack. Unlocking with long passwords or fingerprints is the safest. It is possible to forge fingerprints, but ordinary thieves do not have this technology.

The most important thing is that your smartphone is locked, so choose the screen lock that suits you best.

2. Set up SIM card PIN

Entering the SIM card PIN each time you restart (or switch phones) can be a bit annoying. However, this does not happen too often, so it is worth it, especially considering the added security. If the SIM card is not locked with a PIN, the thief can insert the card into any phone and call themselves to find out the phone number. This then gives them access to certain websites, allows them to bypass two-factor authentication, and transfer money from bank cards via SMS. Needless to say, the screen lock and SIM card should not use the same PIN.

Set up SIM card PIN on an Android device:

• Go to Settings and select Security.
• Tap on SIM card lock and then on Lock SIM card.
• Enter the PIN and confirm the number.

Set up SIM card PIN on an iOS device:

• Go to Settings and open Mobile network (Mobile data on iPad).
• Then tap on SIM PIN.
• Enter the PIN and confirm the number.

3. Full disk encryption

Full disk encryption is another feature that protects your data. When this feature is enabled on your mobile device, all stored data is encrypted by default and cannot be read without unlocking the device. On iPhones and smartphones with Android 5 or higher, encryption is enabled by default. For older Android versions, this feature must be enabled manually.

Enable full disk encryption on Android:

• Go to Settings and select Security.
• Open Encryption and credentials and tap Encrypt phone. Follow the instructions.

4. Protect apps and notifications with passwords

Create unique passwords, PINs, or unlock patterns for critical apps. Disable notifications from these apps, especially push notifications on the lock screen. This makes reading notifications and text messages a bit more cumbersome, but prevents anyone from accessing your one-time codes and makes it almost impossible for strangers to transfer your money to other accounts.

Privacy settings may vary depending on the Android smartphone. Specific instructions for your smartphone model can be found on the manufacturer's website. However, we have compiled the general steps for you:

• Go to Settings and open Security or Privacy.
• Tap on App lock.
• Select the apps you want to protect and create a password, PIN, or pattern.

Unfortunately, not all manufacturers offer the app lock feature. If you don't find the feature in the settings, you can search for solutions on Google Play or contact us for assistance.

iOS does not have an app lock feature. However, you can protect your apps by setting screen time. Here's how:

• Open Settings and search for Screen Time.
• Tap Use Screen Time Passcode and enter a passcode if prompted. Re-enter the passcode to confirm.
• Go to App Limits and select the desired app category.
• Set a daily limit by tapping Add Limit.
• Enter a time limit, for example, 2 minutes.
• Confirm your choice by tapping Add.

Once the time is up, the app will be locked. The person using the smartphone can no longer access the app unless they have the screen time passcode.

5. Create Backups

If you regularly back up your data, you won't lose your contacts and other important information if your smartphone is stolen. You can simply download the backup of your stolen phone's data to the new device.

Create a backup on Android:

• Search for System in settings.
• Select Backup.
• You can enable Backup to Google Drive or back up to external storage if your device offers this option.

iPhone users have two backup options. The simplest is to use automatic iCloud backup:

Enable iCloud Backup:

• Select Settings → [Your name] → iCloud.
• Select iCloud Backup.
• If you are using iOS 10.2 or earlier, select Settings → iCloud → Backup. Connect the device to a power source and a Wi-Fi network. (The first backup consumes a lot of power and data).
• Ensure you have enough iCloud storage space for the backup. All iCloud users automatically receive 5 GB of free storage. If you need more, you can purchase an upgrade from Apple to increase the storage or use a free alternative.
• Make sure your device's screen is locked to avoid interrupting the process by accidental touch.

If you do not wish to use the cloud, you can try a backup to your computer. The Apple website provides a detailed guide on the different backup methods.

Enable "Find My Device"

The Find My Device (Android) and Find My or Find My iPhone (iOS) features allow you to approximately locate your stolen smartphone using your Google or Apple ID account. These features allow you to remotely lock the device and even erase all data stored on it. This only works if the feature was set up and activated before the theft. If you haven't done it yet, set up this feature now.

Enable Find My Device on Android:

• Go to Settings then Security.
• Enable Find My Device.

Enable Find My / Find My iPhone on iPhone:

• Go to Settings and tap your name.
• Tap Find My for iOS 13, iPadOS 13 (or later) or Find My iPhone for iOS 12 (or earlier).
• Then go to your iCloud or Google account and tap Security or the Find My app (formerly Find My iPhone) and look for your device in the list. You can lock your device or erase the data on it. This can be very helpful if your phone was stolen unlocked and you have confidential information stored on it.

⚠️ You can display a message and a contact number on your smartphone's screen when you lock it remotely. This allows someone who finds your phone to return it to you. However, this also has a downside: your contact number can be used for phishing. You must be particularly vigilant, as the thief could, for example, send you a fake support message to discover the password for your Google or Apple ID account and then disassociate the stolen device. In this case, stay calm and do not click on any suspicious links and avoid entering confidential data on unknown websites.

Losing or having your smartphone stolen is really annoying. There's nothing you can do to change that. But if you have secured your phone properly in advance and have an up-to-date backup, you can turn the disaster into a mere temporary inconvenience. We hope this never happens to you. Nevertheless, we advise you to take a few minutes to effectively protect your data against thieves or use our services so that we can help you more effectively.