How Can I Trace My Stolen Cell Phone

Make Sure It's Stolen

Sometimes your phone is just lost. Double-check and make sure that you haven't left it anywhere. Try calling the number. Try retracing your steps. If you're a forgetful person, assume that it's lost first, so go through the steps for finding a lost cell phone.

Make Sure You Don't Know Who Stole It

If you know who stole your cell phone, this is an entirely different situation. Try contacting the authorities (right after you cut the service off by calling your cell carrier). If you're at school, contact a teacher or somebody else in authority -- "the authorities" doesn't always mean the police. If you're pretty sure who took it, you have a much better chance of getting it back -- as long as you're willing to escalate the problem to somebody who can go make them give it back to you.

How Can I Trace My Stolen Cell Phone

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But sometimes no matter what you've done, you're sitting around asking "how can I trace my stolen cell phone?" Hopefully you have prepared ahead of time. If your phone is gone now, you can try contacting your cell phone company and see if there is anything they can do to help.

If you had a friend whose cell phone was stolen and you are wondering what you should do in that situation or how you can help your friend, the answer is preparation. Take a moment now with your cell phone. Just punch in *#06#, and the phone will display a 15-digit number. Write this number down and put it in a safe place. This is your IMEI (international mobile equipment identity)number. If your cell phone should get stolen, you can then contact your cell phone provider. cell operators can block or track all calls originating from a lost or stolen cell phone provided the IMEI number is available to them.