Foral police warn of mobile phone thefts in Sanfermín

The provincial police have explained to citizens a series of tips in the event of theft or loss of a mobile phone, as well as the actions they should take to find it and thus avoid further damage. On the occasion of the festive leisure, the most famous crime is the theft of a mobile phone. In Sanfermines 2023 alone, 1,532 thefts occurred in Pamplona, ​​of which about 80% were related to mobile phones.

First, the regional police explained that mobile operating systems have services for finding a device from the phone application itself. Android, in settings/applications/Find my device; Apple, for iOS “Find my iPhone”.

“If you think the device may be nearby, select the ‘make sound’ option. It will sound at maximum volume for 5 minutes, even if it is in silent or vibrate mode,” the provincial police said.

Secondly, he noted that device finder services also offer the ability to lock your device. To do this, you need to activate the terminal lock to protect the information stored, notify whoever finds it that it belongs to you, and that it cannot be reactivated without your password.

If you do not expect to restore the device, the user can erase the data remotely. This feature, available in the device’s search services, will delete all data on the device (may not affect the contents of SD cards).

Meanwhile, regional police have advised asking your phone provider to block your SIM card so it cannot be used in another device to make calls or use data. This could result in the device’s location services being disabled.

If you suspect that the device has been stolen or lost, you can file a report with any police. You will need to take out insurance. To do this, you will need to provide the unique identifier of the phone (IMEI), which is located on the barcode sticker on the side of the device. Therefore, it is recommended to be careful and write down the IMEI immediately upon purchase of the device.

You can also get the IMEI in the following ways: through the device’s “Settings” menu; by dialing the code *#06# on your phone; this can be seen on the label on the back of the phone; or in the operator’s customer account.

It is recommended that you ask your operator to block your device to prevent it from being used with another SIM card. To do this, you will need to provide the unique identifier of the phone (IMEI) and a copy of the statement filed with the police.

In addition, if the device is lost or stolen, it is safer to disable all associated accounts, which can be done remotely from another terminal or web browser. “This way, we ensure that our personal information does not fall into unwanted hands,” explained the Foral police.

To unlink your Google account, you’ll need to access your account through a web browser and go to Security > Your devices > Manage devices.

Once you enter this option, all the devices you are logged into with this account will appear. By clicking on the text “More details”, you will find the option to log out.

If you lose your Apple device, to protect your information, you must remove the device from the list of trusted devices. To do this, you must access your Apple ID account and manage the list in the Devices section. By marking the device as lost, it will be remotely locked with a code, and the cards linked to it will also be locked.

When it comes to social media, they all have a security and privacy settings section. In some cases, like Instagram or LinkedIn, all you have to do is change your password to unlink your account from any device.

In WhatsApp, you must first contact your mobile operator and ask them to block your SIM card. Then log in to your account with the new SIM card to deactivate WhatsApp on your old device.

In Telegram, you need to sign in to your web browser or other device; access the settings via the three-bar icon at the top left; then go to Privacy & Security > Active Sessions and select the device you want to unlink the account from.

If you use Google or Apple accounts to make payments, these features will be disabled after you unlink your account from your device. If you use any other account as a payment method, you should consult with the service itself on how to sign out of a lost device.

For other accounts such as email, video calling services, online shopping or games, in general the best recommendation to protect all accounts on the lost device is to change the access password as soon as possible and enter the double factor check if possible. It is also advisable to check the official website if they have the ability to log out on other devices.