The phone itself is replaceable. What thieves want is your SIM, your mobile money wallet and your accounts. Protect those first, in this order, using someone else's phone.
1. Block the SIM and the mobile money wallet
This stops anyone receiving your MoMo PIN resets, bank codes and WhatsApp verification codes.
Call your network from any phone. They will ask questions to confirm it is you, usually your Ghana Card details and date of birth.
| Network | From the same network | From another network |
|---|---|---|
| MTN | 100 | 0244 300 000 |
| Telecel | 100 | 050 555 5111 |
| AT | 100 | 026 000 0100 |
Ask for two things: block the SIM, and freeze the mobile money wallet. Then ask for a replacement SIM on the same number; you collect it at a service centre with your Ghana Card, and your number and wallet come back to you.
These numbers apply in Ghana. Elsewhere, call your network's customer care line and ask for the same two things.
2. Lock the phone and see where it is
- Android: on another phone or computer, go to google.com/android/find and sign in with your Google account. You can ring it, lock it with a message and a number to call, or erase it.
- iPhone: go to icloud.com/find, or use the Find My app on another Apple device. Turn on Lost Mode.
Do not go to the location yourself if it shows the phone somewhere unfamiliar. Give the location to the police.
3. Secure your accounts
From a computer or a borrowed phone:
- Change your Google or Apple password, and sign the lost phone out of your account from the security settings.
- Change your email password if it is different.
- WhatsApp: once you have the replacement SIM, set up WhatsApp on a new phone with your number. That signs the old phone out automatically.
- Banking apps: call your bank and ask them to block app access from the old device.
- Warn your family on WhatsApp or by call that anyone messaging from your number asking for money is not you. Stolen phones are used for exactly this.
4. Report it
Report a theft at the nearest police station and ask for a written extract. You will need it for an insurance claim, and sometimes for a replacement SIM or a bank. Take your IMEI number with you (see below). If money was taken from your wallet or bank, also report to the Cyber Security Authority on 292 (Ghana).
5. Erase it, if it is not coming back
If there is no hope of recovery, erase the phone remotely from the same Find page. You will no longer be able to locate it afterwards, which is why this comes last.
Find your IMEI now, before you need it
The IMEI is the phone's serial number. Dial *#06# on your phone today and save the number somewhere else, such as in an email to yourself. It is also printed on the box.
Set this up while you still have the phone
- A screen lock with a PIN, not a pattern anyone can see over your shoulder.
- Find My Device (Android) or Find My (iPhone) switched on.
- A SIM PIN, so a thief cannot put your SIM in another phone.
- A separate PIN on your MoMo and banking apps, different from your screen lock.
- Photos and contacts backed up. See backing up your photos and contacts.