Stolen iPhone - Where to go from here?

Call the phone company then erase the content on your phone.

Epsilon88 said:

...My question is: where do I go from here? Should I lock and wipe the phone from MobileMe, then contact Telus? What should I ask them to do? Is a replacement phone expensive?

Thanks for your help!

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Yeah, first sent a txt/call to see if they answer one last time and tell them if they don't return it you will blacklist the phone and no one can use it; if the area the phone is at too broad then you can't tell the police to search all the houses...
Lock & wipe, then call Telus and tell them to blacklist the IMEI of your phone so that no one can use the phone in your country anymore, GL

Call the cops, I read a story somewhere where a chopper looked for a lost iPhone using a chopper.. Cool stuff.

Call 911. File a police report so you can have that as evidence when you sue him.

MultiMediaWill said:

Call 911. File a police report so you can have that as evidence when you sue him.

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Why do Americans like yourself insist on suing everyone? The self entitlement is appalling and I'm from California. It was left on a cab, completely the owners fault, it sucks he left it there but this is the part of the story where the OP buys a new phone and moves on. If this were me personally, I would check the location every hour and wait till it leaves and confront the persons themselves when they move to a more isolated area devoid of many people so I can be sure it's them, even use the alarm function and catch them red handed.

Orange™ said:

Why do Americans like yourself insist on suing everyone? The self entitlement is appalling and I'm from California. It was left on a cab, completely the owners fault, it sucks he left it there but this is the part of the story where the OP buys a new phone and moves on. If this were me personally, I would check the location every hour and wait till it leaves and confront the persons themselves when they move to a more isolated area devoid of many people so I can be sure it's them, even use the alarm function and catch them red handed.

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Why did you assume he's an American? I mean sure, suing in this case isn't a good idea, but that's quite a leap.

To the OP: Count it as lost, if you contacted the company, see if you can get the phone deactivated and wiped by device ID. Maybe you'll have an honest person offer to give it back, but don't count on it in today's world =/

Orange™ said:

Why do Americans like yourself insist on suing everyone? The self entitlement is appalling and I'm from California. It was left on a cab, completely the owners fault, it sucks he left it there but this is the part of the story where the OP buys a new phone and moves on. If this were me personally, I would check the location every hour and wait till it leaves and confront the persons themselves when they move to a more isolated area devoid of many people so I can be sure it's them, even use the alarm function and catch them red handed.

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It is fairly easy to figure out to whom an iPhone belongs. There is no excuse to swipe it, particularly if the owner sends a message containing return information.

If I were in the OP position, I would contact the police and provide tracking information.

Orange™ said:

Why do Americans like yourself insist on suing everyone? The self entitlement is appalling and I'm from California. It was left on a cab, completely the owners fault, it sucks he left it there but this is the part of the story where the OP buys a new phone and moves on. If this were me personally, I would check the location every hour and wait till it leaves and confront the persons themselves when they move to a more isolated area devoid of many people so I can be sure it's them, even use the alarm function and catch them red handed.

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America is based around fairness. If there was no judicial system in america then we may be corrupt like many other countries.

I have a couple friends that had lost or had them stolen. Call the Police and file a report. They will go to the address and they might be able to get it back. But you should still call Telus, They would be able to tell if it has been used and what #s were dialed. That may help you nail down where it is.

In California, the taxi driver (or subsequent passenger from OP who took the phone) would be guilty of a felony, Penal Code 496, Receiving Stolen Property. Essentially, possessing property that you know, or a reasonable person would suspect, to be stolen, is guilty of 496 Receiving Stolen Property.

Orange™ said:

Why do Americans like yourself insist on suing everyone? The self entitlement is appalling and I'm from California. It was left on a cab, completely the owners fault, it sucks he left it there but this is the part of the story where the OP buys a new phone and moves on. If this were me personally, I would check the location every hour and wait till it leaves and confront the persons themselves when they move to a more isolated area devoid of many people so I can be sure it's them, even use the alarm function and catch them red handed.

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Agreed. Suing? especially if there are other means of finding it? Come on, people..

Apple has made this problem so bloody easy that I'm almost ready to say that if you don't do it, you don't deserve to really have an iPhone.

http://appshopper.com/utilities/find-my-iphone

Honestly. a FREE APP. Outside of that, MobileMe comes in handy. With those, if someone else has it, file a report with the police givng an approximate location of the phone from the utility, and go try to get it (or let the police get it for you).

But you honestly can't fault someone else for you leaving your phone somewhere. If someone actively came up and stole your phone, you'd have a valid complaint. But nevertheless, Find My Iphone and MobileMe are essential in these cases, especially since this topic is a dime a dozen in this forum.

Perhaps something like this should be stickied in the forum or placed on a FAQ on the site.

BL.

Take out your wallet and get ready to buy a new one.

Eldiablojoe said:

In California, the taxi driver (or subsequent passenger from OP who took the phone) would be guilty of a felony, Penal Code 496, Receiving Stolen Property. Essentially, possessing property that you know, or a reasonable person would suspect, to be stolen, is guilty of 496 Receiving Stolen Property.

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Nope. It's lost property not stolen.

Move on and buy another one asap?

Goldinboy17 said:

Nope. It's lost property not stolen.

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Technically if the cab driver (or some one else, it could very well have been the next passengers found the phone, took it, and didn't mention it to the cabbie) found it and does not try to return it it is stolen.

Ethically... it is still stolen. Though it seems some people never grow out of elementary school (I am aiming this at anyone who thinks that just by finding a phone it is now theirs and that they have no ethical obligation to at least make a serious attempt at returning the phone).

Lost means that it wasn't found or the person never went back to claim it.

Oh, and as I mentioned, the cab driver may very well be innocent. He may never have seen the phone in his car. Another passenger might have and decided to take off with it.

But, I will echo at this point OP is best off filing a report and then going and buying a new one if he wants an iPhone to use. Whether it is lost or stolen, I think it's probably gone to him by now.

Buy new pants or a bag

You need to buy some pants that do not have vertical openings for the pockets. Such pants that have this vertical opening are "dickies" and such. Most jean pockets have HORIZONTAL openings, making things nearly impossible to slip out.

If you can't do that then you need to get a bag, like a messenger bag or hand bag, to put the phone in.

ANYTHING that has an apple logo will be stollen. ANYTHING with an apple logo, you need to watch like a hawk. NEVER leave it anywhere. The cab driver most likely doesn't have it because after you got to your destination, he probably picked up other people, the other people saw the iPhone, said to themselves, "Score, I found an iPhone! I'm gonna keep it!" Or if he's like me, would have said, "Ooh a free iPhone! I'm gonna unlock/jailbreak it then sell it to some chump on ebay!"

So, um, yah, just buy another iPhone. It's a loss. Sorry if I come off as rude but it's the truth.

My iPhone 4 got stolen too...kills me for not being more aware of my phone at all times, especially this one. 'Buy another one' may be easier said than done, depending if or how long you are in a contract or how heavy are your pockets ($). I just started my renewal contract with AT&T, so I got the $199 price. Now the best AT&T can do for me is pay $300+ for a replacement. So I decided to just get a temporary pay-as-you go Samsung phone and wait and see what my options will again be when the iPhone 5 comes this summer or you can now look into a Verizon option as well.

Okay.. now that I've re-read the thread again after 10 hours of sleep, I see where I've smegged up.

The OP has MobileMe. Good. You can always track it with that. Now comes the part where the OP has the decision to make: Risk vs. Cost.

Risk: Keep your information on the phone, use MM to track it, and file a Police Report. If you see the phone on the move now after you've reported it to the taxi company, it would now be classified as stolen. Someone else has it, and it is not in the cab. Using MM to track it, let the police know the approx. location of it, and let them grab it. Obviously, you'd have to be there to identify it. The problem here is depending on how much personal info you have on the phone: contacts, bank info, etc.

Cost: If the info you have on the phone is too costly to yourself or your identity, call Telus, explain what's happened, freeze the account (so no calls, esp. Int'l Calls) go out, and wipe the phone. You'll lose the tracking, and have to pay full price for your next iPhone, but $600USD may be a small price to pay for protecting your identity.

Just some things to consider. But one of these two decisions will need to be made before anything.

BL.

Epsilon88 said:

Okay, so I've given up on the phone and suspended my account. I've taken over my sister's old 3GS (unlocked). How much should I pay her for it? She offered it as a gift, but I want to pay its value since she's majorly in debt.

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in Canada i would buy a 16gb 3gs for $300-350...$300 would seem reasonable now

Just give your sis what you can afford ... she sounds like she deserves something.

Lol, do you have any idea how many people leave their phones in taxi's. I have an uncle who drives a taxi in NYC and he has found over 15 iPhones ( and probably hundreds of other crap phones) to date. I would try getting in touch with the taxi guy, he most likely has it, or has probably already sold it to one of the thousand cell phone shops across the city.

Good luck:

apple oc said:

just give your sis what you can afford ... She sounds like she deserves something.

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+1