phone got snatched on the subway yesterday. i've got the imei written down from the box. is there a website or service that can actually track a phone by imei? cops said they'll "look into it" which i'm not holding my breath for
sigh. i hate being the one to say this but:
there is no website or app that lets civilians track a phone by IMEI. every site claiming to do so is a scam or malware. i wish they worked bc i've been robbed too.
what the IMEI is actually useful for:
OP: so it's basically a "hope the system catches it eventually" thing
pretty much. call your carrier today and blacklist it. that at least prevents someone else from using it on a legit network.
also if you had find my / find my device on, use that from a browser. way more useful than IMEI for actually locating
file a police report with the imei on it. you'll need the report number for any insurance claim (home/renter's usually covers stolen phones) and for your carrier.
also change all your passwords and 2fa targets ASAP. whoever has the phone might have SIM access which can mean text-based 2fa is compromised
happened to me last year. did everything right — blacklisted, police report, find my active. got a ping from the phone 3 weeks later in a different state. cops there didn't do anything. gave up.
buy insurance next phone. that's what saved me
specifically do NOT click any emails or texts that come to you claiming to be from "apple support" or "google" saying "your phone was found, click here to verify." phishing. common after a theft because the thieves have your number
OP: oh good to know. i'll watch for that. thanks everyone, gonna call my carrier now
good luck. sorry this happened
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