01. In today's world, mobile phones have become the center of

Police Headquarters,

Thiruvananthapuram

phq.po[email protected]ov.in

04712721547

Dated. 04-01-2022

No.T2-68597/2021/PHQ

Circular. 1/2022/PHQ

Sub : Recovering lost/stolen mobile phones - guidelines issued - reg.

01. In today’s world, mobile phones have become the center of

everyone’s lives. One’s complete life is documented on the

mobile phone as it contains one’s private photographs,

contacts, bank details, browsing history, personal emails,

phone logs and almost other personal information. With the

growing importance of mobile phones, the handset has become

a valuable item particularly in terms of the personal data or

information stored in it and for this reason, the mobile phone

theft has become a serious problem. The theft of phone can be

a nightmare for anybody. When a mobile phone is

lost/stolen, the matter should immediately be reported

to the Police, so as to locate the phone and to avoid any

sort of severe repercussion.

02. Th e following are the diﬀerent steps to be taken at

the victim's end, with which you can find your lost phone:

a) Make a call to your lost device by using another phone. It

may be helpful to get back the device if it is misplaced

somewhere.

b) Smart phones contain lots of personal data like videos,

images, contacts, social media profiles, banking credentials etc.

In order to reduce the risk of getting them leaked or

compromised, it is most preferable to change the passwords,

security credentials of all of your online accounts such as social

media, cloud storage, banking, emails etc immediately after

confirming that the device is lost.

c) Enable the lost control applications in the phones is

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available. It may help for tracking down phone if it is lost. Such

Apps can also help to erase all of your phone data remotely by

triggering command. It will help you to preserve your privacy.

d) Submit a written complaint to your nearest Police Station.

The complaint must contains the IMEI number , Model Number,

Phone numbers etc. of the lost device. Always keep such details

of the phone separately.

e) Contact your service provider for blocking / duplication of

the SIM cards used in lost device after contacting the Police or

Cyber Cells. It will help the enquiring authority to get IMEI

details about your lost phone.

Action at the end of Law Enforcement Agencies

(Police)

a) The details should be collected from the complainant about

place of loss, context of loss, and also collect IMEI numbers,

presently using SIM card numbers and a written complaint etc.

b) Make an enquiry based on LBS (Location based service) data

if, the cell phone is still in switched on mode. The LBS data will

be helpful to recover the lost device in case if it is misplaced in

somewhere.

c) Collect the video footage (CCTV footage), if available, at the

scene of happening. The CCTV footage will help to identify the

vehicle numbers etc; if the device is lost inside a vehicle.

d) Requests can also be send to Mobile Phone Service

Providers for getting details about the IMEI hit of the lost device

from or after the date of lost.

e) The Mobile Phone Service Providers will sent back the

details regarding SIM card if anything inserted during the

requested period. The details are comprised of SIM card

number, IMEI number, Tower Location etc.

f) Using the details, Cyber Cells can identify the suspects and

trace him/her with the help of concerned local police stations.

Precautions to reduce the chances of getting phone lost

or stolen.

There should be applications in the phone that can be used

to track the location of the mobile phone.

The IMEI number of the mobile should be known to the

user.

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Anil Kant IPS

State Police Chief

The data of the applications like contacts, email should be

synced online to keep the data protected and prevents its

loss.

The unwarranted third-party applications should be

avoided

The remote wipe should be set up so that in case the

phone is lost, the entire data can be wiped remotely and

also can be used to find the phone’s location.

To : All officers in List B' for information.

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