Phone snatched or stolen? What to do, in order

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One second it was in your hand, the next it's gone. Your phone holds your bank, your messages and your email, so the order matters: get safe and report it to the police, lock the phone from another device, call your bank and your network, then change your passwords.

Quick answer

Call 999 if you're hurt or unsafe, or it has just happened. Otherwise report it online or on 101. From another device, lock the phone at icloud.com/find (iPhone) or android.com/find (Android). Freeze your cards with your bank, ask your network to block the SIM and IMEI, and change your email, social media and banking passwords first.

What to do first, in order

Don't follow the thief or try to get the phone back yourself. Apple says that if your iPhone has been stolen, or shows on the map somewhere you don't recognise, don't try to recover it yourself: contact the police. This order follows the Metropolitan Police's advice for a stolen phone.

  1. Stay safe and report it. Call 999 if you've been hurt, feel unsafe or it has only just happened. Otherwise report it online or on 101, and keep the crime reference number.
  2. Lock the phone from another device. Lost Mode for iPhone, Mark as lost or Remote Lock for Android. Leave your contact details off the lock screen.
  3. Call your bank. Freeze your cards, using a friend's phone if you need to.
  4. Call your network. Ask them to bar the SIM and block the IMEI. On Android, use Remote Lock before this call, because Google says it needs an active SIM.
  5. Change your passwords. The Met says to secure email, social media and banking first. On Android, only sign the phone out of your Google Account once it's locked, and erased if you're going to. On iPhone, don't remove it from Find My, even after erasing it.
  6. Watch for anything unusual. The Met says that if you spot a sign-in alert or payment you don't recognise, change that account's password.

How do I report it to the police and my insurer?

Report it to your local force online, if it offers that, or call 101, which police.uk lists for a stolen item. Call 999 if a serious offence is in progress or has just happened.

  1. Give the IMEI, or for an iPhone the serial number, which Apple says you can find without the device. Citizens Advice says your network provider can give you the IMEI to pass to the police.
  2. Note the crime reference number. Citizens Advice says you'll need it to claim on insurance, and Ofcom says to tell your insurer as soon as possible.
  3. If the phone is registered on Immobilise, log in and choose Report Stolen. Immobilise says police searches will then show it as stolen, and second-hand traders are alerted through CheckMEND, the national second-hand stolen property database.

How do I lock a stolen iPhone?

Mark it as lost at icloud.com/find as quickly as possible. Apple says Lost Mode locks the iPhone with its passcode, to stop the thief getting in and changing your Apple Account. You don't need a verification code to sign in there, so it works even though your trusted device has gone. If you're asked for one, Apple says to select the Find Devices button instead.

  1. Sign in at icloud.com/find in a web browser.
  2. Under All Devices, select your iPhone.
  3. Choose Mark as Lost and follow the on-screen instructions, leaving out any phone number or message (see below).

Apple says the phone only goes into Lost Mode once it's turned on and connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data. For a stolen phone, Apple adds:

  • Leave your contact details off. A thief could use them for scams.
  • Don't remove the iPhone from Find My. That removes Activation Lock and makes the phone easier to erase and resell.
  • Mark it as lost even with Stolen Device Protection on. Its extra safeguards only last for a period of time.

If Find My wasn't on, the iPhone won't appear at icloud.com/find, and Apple says to change your Apple Account password straight away. If the thief may have seen your passcode, see our guide to a phone stolen with your passcode.

Can a thief use Apple Pay on my stolen iPhone?

Apple says a payment needs Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode, except with a card set up for Express Mode, such as an Express Travel card. Once the phone is in Lost Mode, the cards and passes you use with Apple Pay are suspended, if Find My was on. Apple says that with Stolen Device Protection you can still use your iPhone passcode for purchases with Apple Pay, so mark the phone as lost quickly. Apple also says you can:

  1. Remove the ability to pay with those cards from your Apple Account page at account.apple.com.
  2. Erase the iPhone remotely in Find My. Apple says your credit, debit and prepaid cards are then suspended from Apple Pay even if the phone is offline, but travel cards can't be removed or suspended while it's offline.

How do I lock a stolen Android phone and Google Wallet?

Use Find Hub. Google says Mark as lost locks the phone with your PIN, pattern or password. The phone needs power, a connection, your Google Account signed in, Find Hub turned on and visibility on Google Play.

  1. Go to android.com/find, or open the Find Hub app on another Android device, and sign in. On a friend's phone, Google says to use Sign in as guest in Find Hub, or Incognito mode in a browser, closed when you're done.
  2. Select the stolen phone.
  3. Tap Mark as lost, then Next. Google's next screen asks for contact info and a message for the lock screen. For a stolen phone, Apple's advice is to leave contact details off, because a thief might use them for scams. Then tap Mark as lost.

If you turned on Remote Lock beforehand, Google says you can lock the screen at android.com/lock using your verified phone number. Google says it needs an active SIM card in the phone and an internet connection, so use it before you ask your network to bar the SIM.

For Google Wallet, Google says erasing the phone in Find Hub removes payment info, including credit and debit cards. Erasing is under the phone's Settings in Find Hub, as Factory reset. Google says erasing may not delete an SD card. An erased phone no longer shows in Find Hub, so do it once you've given up on getting it back.

Google says a phone has to be signed in to your Google Account to be secured or erased in Find Hub, so lock it, and erase it if you're going to, before you sign it out. Then, in your Google Account, open Security, then Your devices, select Manage devices, choose the phone and select Sign out next to Account Access.

What should I tell my bank?

That your phone has been stolen, and that you want your cards frozen. Take Five to Stop Fraud, the campaign led by UK Finance, says to report the theft through your bank's procedure, at a branch, or from a friend's or family member's phone.

  1. Call on a number you know is genuine: Take Five advises contacting organisations directly using a known phone number.
  2. Freeze the cards on the phone, including those in Apple Pay or Google Wallet.
  3. Ask about anything you don't recognise. The Met says transactions made after you've reported the phone stolen may be reimbursed by your bank.

If your cards or online banking are involved, Report Fraud (which replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025) says your first step is to contact your bank or credit card company. You can then report it at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, Report Fraud says to contact Police Scotland on 101 instead.

Be wary of calls that follow. Apple says it will never contact you to say your iPhone has been found. Take Five warns that thieves may pretend to have found a phone and ask you to enter your passcode to prove it's yours. Apple says never to share your device passcode with anyone. If you get an unexpected call about a financial matter, call 159: Stop Scams UK says it connects customers of more than 99% of UK retail bank current accounts safely and directly with their bank.

How do I block my SIM and IMEI?

Call your network from another phone as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, as Ofcom advises. Your provider can bar your SIM to stop calls on your account, and block the IMEI so nobody else can use the phone. The Met adds that telling your provider stops two-step verification messages being sent to your number.

Ask for a replacement SIM with your existing number too. Ofcom says you don't need a new contract for this.

On Android, Find Hub shows the IMEI under the phone's Settings.

How do I get my WhatsApp back after a phone theft?

Through your SIM. WhatsApp says it can't deactivate your account for you, and you can't log out using WhatsApp Web or desktop.

  1. Ask your network to block the SIM.
  2. Get a new SIM with the same number, activate it and put it in a phone.
  3. Open WhatsApp and re-register. WhatsApp says the stolen phone is then logged out automatically.
  4. Check the devices linked to your account and turn on WhatsApp's security features, as WhatsApp recommends.

If you backed up to iCloud or your Google Account, you might be able to restore your chats.

Which passwords should I change first?

Start with email, social media and banking: the Met says to secure those first. It says changing your passwords stops criminals getting into the apps on your phone.

  1. Google: in your Google Account, select Signing in to Google in the Security section, then Password.
  2. Apple: on another trusted device, go to Settings and tap your name. Check Sign-In & Security, and change your Apple Account password if anything has changed that you don't recognise.

If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, Apple says don't remove the iPhone from Find My or your Apple Account until your claim has been fully approved. Otherwise, Apple says you can remove the stolen phone from the device list under your name in Settings without removing it from Find My.

Where Failshot fits

Failshot won't stop a snatch, and it won't find your phone. Failshot for iPhone and Android is coming soon. When it's out, on iPhone you'll leave Failshot open on its own screen and lock the phone, and whoever unlocks it into Failshot will be photographed. Apple's developer documentation says camera use is prohibited while an app is in the background, so Failshot for iPhone won't be able to photograph a wrong passcode at the Lock Screen.

Failshot for Mac is out now. If it's a Mac that's been taken, see what to do if your MacBook is stolen.

Questions people also ask

Can a thief get into my banking app?

Take Five says someone who gets into the phone could try to make purchases or send money. Call your bank straight away to freeze your cards, then change your passwords, starting with email, social media and banking, which the Met says to secure first.

Should I go after the person who took my phone?

No. Apple says that if your iPhone has been stolen, or shows on the map somewhere you don't recognise, don't try to recover it yourself. Contact the police: 999 if it has just happened or you're in danger, otherwise 101 or online.

Do I report a stolen phone to Report Fraud or the police?

The theft goes to your local police, online or on 101. Report Fraud handles fraud and cyber crime: if your cards or banking are involved, contact your bank first, then Report Fraud. In Scotland, Report Fraud says to contact Police Scotland on 101 instead.

Sources