It’s Festive Season: What to Do if Your Phone Gets Stolen

You all know what it’s like to see your money flash before your eyes. Yes, money, not your life. That moment when you enter a crowded room and realized that something has left you. Your phone or your wallet is your biggest guess. If you thought we meant something else, you are on your own.

When it’s your phone and the pain of loss finishes its course through your body and you realize you need to block that number and block the account so that nobody uses your bank app to redesign your life, the panic sets in!

You’ve lost your number and nobody can reach you, so you buy that new SIM card. If your friends can convince you, you try out another network. Two weeks after, regret sets in and you wish you could go back in time. Half your friends can’t reach and it’s becoming a serious something.

But er, oga things don’t have to be so complicated na! For instance, if you had an MTN SIM and the brothers of the night have picked you (sorry in arrears) here’s what you can do.

Take a deep breath and do some smart calculations

GET OUT OF THERE! Don’t try to be brave. Get out of the environment and go somewhere safe. This season is fun but also the time for sticky fingers. When you are calm and have taken the right steps – report the theft and block your accounts if necessary – make sure that your phone number was registered.

Get all you need: Make sure you have the SIM pack or other evidence of direct purchase/ownership of that sim card. If your SIM pack is unavailable, get a sworn affidavit attesting to your ownership and loss is required.Three (3) frequently-dialled numbers. Everybody has those three people (in fact, 10 maybe) that we can’t stop calling. Any details of your last recharge activities (no matter how small, it will work). You would also need a valid form of photo ID – International Passport, Driver’s License, National ID Card, Voters Identification Card (NINs slip with ID number are also cool). Go to an authorized centre and find your way.

Avoid Sketchy Areas: A sound piece of advice, from 9:00 pm, please try and avoid dark areas or places that are not well illuminated. “Had I known”, is as bad as it sounds, so we all need to be smart.

But the best thing to do is to try to protect against this happening in the first place (well, as much as is possible). Avoid using your phones in ‘shady’ areas. Always be vigilant and as mundane and childish as it seems, avoid speaking to strangers. Also, keep your things securely.