{"id":29755,"date":"2020-04-01T06:00:16","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/?p=29755"},"modified":"2020-03-30T18:03:12","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T00:03:12","slug":"lost-or-stolen-device-heres-what-to-do-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/2020\/04\/01\/lost-or-stolen-device-heres-what-to-do-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost or Stolen Device? Here\u2019s What to do Next"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s a nightmare, it\u2019s inconvenient, and it\u2019s\ninevitable. Losing or having your smart device stolen poses a significant,\nlooming privacy risk\u2014 we just don\u2019t like to think about it. However, this is an\ninstance where hiding your head in the sand will only make you more susceptible\nto attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The personal data living on your family&#8217;s\nnetwork of devices is valuable and often-times all too vulnerable. Having a\nworst-case-scenario plan in case of device loss or theft could save you time, money,\nand heartache. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, we\u2019ve put together a list of best\npractices in case the worst does happen, you\u2019ll be prepared to prevent an\nidentity theft disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>General Best Practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Preparing yourself and your devices before\nthey are stolen is the fastest way to avert potential breaches. Consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Keeping a \u201cFind My\u201d app turned on\nfor all devices. This is the best way to locate and remote wipe devices.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Making sure your devices are\nsecured behind individualized pin codes, fingerprints, or Face ID. This will\nslow down thieves trying to access your device.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Use strong, individualized passwords\non all accounts, including email and banking apps. Don\u2019t have the time? Use a\ntrusted password manager to automate password creation. This will help limit the\nscope of any breach.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>When a device is stolen, act\nquickly. The faster you respond, the more effective the following steps are\nlikely to be. If the thief turns the device off, or removes the battery, you\u2019ll\nbe unable to remotely wipe the device.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webroot.com\/us\/en\/home\/products\/vpn-wifi-security\">Learn how to get automatic\nprotection over any network, even unsecured WiFi.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Android Devices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is what <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/accounts\/answer\/6160491?hl=en\">Android<\/a> users should do in case of device\ntheft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>First, locate your device. Go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.android.com\/find\">android.com\/find<\/a>\nand sign into your Google Account.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>If you have more than one device,\nchoose the one you\u2019re looking for from the list at the top of the screen. The\nlost\/stolen device will receive a notification, so you should act quickly.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>On the map on your screen, you&#8217;ll\nbe shown information about the phone\u2019s location. Remember this is approximate\nand might not be neither precise nor accurate. If your phone can&#8217;t be found,\nyou&#8217;ll see its last known location (if available).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Now, if you\u2019re certain your device\nhas been stolen, you can click \u201cEnable lock &amp; erase\u201d to erase your device.\nBut be careful. After you erase your device, Find My Device will no longer\nwork, so make sure you are certain.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>If you believe your phone is just\nlost, and not stolen, you have a few options. \u201cLock\u201d will lock your phone with\nyour PIN, pattern, or password. If you don&#8217;t have a lock in place, you can set\none. To help someone return your phone to you, you can also add a message or\nphone number to the lock screen.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>An important note: <em>If you happen to find your phone after you have erased it, you&#8217;ll\nlikely need your Google Account password to use it again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>iOS Devices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is what <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/HT201472\">iOS\nusers<\/a> should do in case of device theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Sign into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icloud.com\/find\">icloud.com\/find<\/a>\nor use the Find My app on another Apple device.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Next, you\u2019ll need to locate your\ndevice. Select the one you&#8217;re searching for to view its location on a map.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You\u2019ll be presented with a few\noptions here. \u201cMark As Lost\u201d will remotely lock your device, allow you to\ndisplay a custom message with your contact information on the missing device&#8217;s\nlock screen, and track the device&#8217;s location. If you have added Apple Pay\npayment options, the ability to make payments using Apple Pay on that device\nwill be suspended for as long as the device is in Lost Mode.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>If you\u2019re certain your device has\nbeen stolen, select \u201cErase your device.\u201d When you erase your device remotely,\nall of your information is deleted, and you will no longer be able to locate it\nwith the Find My app or Find iPhone on iCloud.com. Make sure your phone is not\nrecoverable before taking this step. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Device Theft Wrap-Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After you have protected your most sensitive\ninformation with the steps above, take just a few more steps to fully wrap the\ncrisis up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Report your lost or stolen device\nto local law enforcement. Law enforcement might request the serial number of\nyour device. This can often be found on the original packaging.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Report your stolen device to your\nwireless carrier. They will disable your account to prevent calls, texts, and\ndata use by the thief. If you have insurance through your carrier, this is the\ntime to begin filing a claim as well.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Reset<strong> all <\/strong>of your passwords, including your Google Account and Apple ID. After a device is stolen, you can never be certain of how far the breach has penetrated. The good news is, if you are using a secure password manager, this should be pretty quick!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Any accounts that had 2FA access,\nwhen you first set up the account would have had you save the private key or\none time code. This key will allow you back into your accounts without needing\nthe device and will allow you to remove the account from the device.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Alert your banking providers to\nthe potential breach and monitor your bank accounts and credit cards for\nsuspicious activity. If you see any, get ahead of the issue and cancel and\nreplace all of your bank cards. This will prevent the financial breach from\naffecting multiple accounts.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A stolen device is a headache, but it doesn\u2019t\nhave to be a disaster. If you have a plan in place for a worst-case scenario,\nyou\u2019ll be able to act quickly and confidently. Do you have device theft tips\nthat we missed here? <a href=\"https:\/\/community.webroot.com\/\">Let us know on\nthe Webroot Community.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s a nightmare, it\u2019s inconvenient, and it\u2019s inevitable. Losing or having your smart device stolen poses a significant, looming privacy risk\u2014 we just don\u2019t like to think about it. However, this is an instance where hiding your head in the sand will only make you more susceptible to attack. The personal data living on your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":29761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2985],"tags":[21932,21937],"yst_prominent_words":[3673,4953,25349,25351,25355,24491,3517,25343,8095,25345,6981,6105,25353,19877,4933,6265,3757,4395,25347,5429],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29755"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29765,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29755\/revisions\/29765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29755"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https://www.webroot.com/blog/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=29755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}