Stolen Phone – what to do. 80,000 were stolen in London last year

October 9, 2025

Learn what to do if your phone is stolen. It is one of the most common crimes today.

I’m sure we’ve all seen footage of an electric bike weaving down the pavement and the rider reaching out to snatch a mobile phone.

Last year a reputed 80,000 phones were stolen in London alone, that’s approximately one every six minutes.

Recently the police disrupted a network responsible for 40,000 stolen phones smuggled into China. Why China? because our phones are internet enabled and can bypass censorship that bans many sites in China. That’s why an iPhone can fetch up to £4,000 in a Chinese market.

I have a 20 minute walk to my office part of which is down a high street and not particularly busy at the time. I counted how many people had their phones on display, either texting, phoning or just walking along with their phones in their hand. 93 was the total, approximately 50% of pedestrians I passed, and that’s just one side of the street.

So apart from being careful when displaying your phone, especially when texting, what should you do if your phone is stolen.

Phone Security   

It’s best practice to use a keypad lock or biometrics like fingerprint or facial recognition so thieves cannot immediately access your phone. You can set up a PIN for your SIM card too. This stops criminals from using the SIM in another phone.

IMEI Number

Make sure you know your International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number – the unique 15-digital number used to identify your phone. This is much easier to get if you still have your phone. Type *#06# into your keypad and the number will appear, or go into the settings app. The network can then stop the phone working across their networks.

Access your Phone remotely if stolen

You can try to access, lock and even shut down your device remotely on a laptop, tablet or using another phone. Different manufacturers use different systems, but they all operate in a similar way.

iPhone – visit iCloud.com/find or open the Find My app on another one of your Apple devices

Android – visit android.com/find or open the Find My Device app on another one of your devices

Samsung – visit findmymobile.samsung.com and sign in with your Samsung account

You can also use these services to track your device remotely. Its location can then be shared with the police to help them recover the phone.

Alert your network provider 

Tell them your phone was stolen and, ideally, give them the IMEI number. If you don’t already know this, you can sometimes find the number on the box the phone came in, or by using online services like Find My Device. UK network operators can stop a stolen phone from working across their networks with its IMEI.

Remember, if your phone is stolen you may have to pay the cost of any unauthorised calls or text. Some providers cap these costs at £100 outside of your phone allowance – but only if you report your phone as missing within 24 hours.

Let your bank know

They can disable payment methods like Apple Pay or Google Wallet and suspend banking apps.

In some cases, victims who went to the police but didn’t alert their bank have lost thousands of pounds after their phone was stolen. So many of us make payments using our phones, so if it’s stolen, we have no means of paying for anything immediate, like getting home.

Report the incident to police

Give the police your IMEI number as it can help them track down the device.

It’s worth reporting the incident even if you think it’s unlikely the phone will be recovered, as you’ll need a crime reference number if you want to claim insurance and it helps build a picture of where crime hotspots are located.

Change your passwords

This is particularly important when it comes to online banking and accounts containing sensitive information, like your emails.

It’s also worth changing the passwords for your social media, shopping apps and subscription services like Netflix or Spotify.

Contact your insurance company

If you have mobile phone insurance, call their claims line when you have your crime reference number.

If you don’t have separate mobile phone insurance, Money Saving Expert recommends you check whether the phone is covered under any home insurance policy.

Phones are often covered by your household insurance under “add-on” which covers possessions taken outside the home.

Alternatively, there are standalone providers like Insurance2go or Row.co.uk with rates that are considerably cheaper than those quoted by mobile providers.