Theft of a cherished Lumia 1020

[Chintan Gohel]

The story is in the title but let me explain a bit more

I'm in Kenya, specifically Nairobi. 4th June, 2016

I was going back to work after going out for some business. I was in a public transport vehicle (a minivan). I won't go into the details of what kind of trickery and cunning was used but my lumia 1020 was stolen from my right trouser pocket

Needless to say, I am frustrated and angry with this theft. I've had it for 2 years and it was still in nearly perfect condition. It was running 10586.338 nicely.
Fortunately, I regularly did backups so I haven't lost any messages, contacts or photos. Whatsapp messages are gone, but for a months worth only

I have been checking "find my phone" every 30 minutes but it hasn't found the phone nor been able to lock it.

This is what happens when phones are stolen - the first thing the thief does is to switch it off so no one can call the phone or track it. They then remove and throw away the SIM card.

The next step which I believe can happen is that the thief leaves the phone in storage somewhere for a couple of months until the police get tired of searching and then they sell the phone.

If the buyer unknowingly buys the phone and later finds out it's locked, it would be their loss and my loss too. I've heard of phones being stolen in one country and 3 months later the phone has been bought in another country 1000s of km away.

I'll keep checking find my phone every week for at least a year.

If anyone has ever had a phone stolen, please share your experience. For my morale, if you did find your phone after it got stolen by a thief, please share how you got it back

Thank you

 

[Pete]

Sorry to hear that your phone got stolen. As you probably know, it's gone and there's is very little hope of any return. As soon as the phone has been factory reset, you won't be able to use the "find my phone" feature to see where it is.

You're right, the SIM has been removed, the battery too (if it's removable) and wrapped in tin foil. The police won't even try to search for the phone unless they happen to catch a thief and find a hoard of phones.

Looks like you'll need to let the insurance sort it out and get yourself a new handset.

 

[Indistinguishable]

Sorry again for your loss, Chintan. It's a real bummer.

I personally have not had a phone stolen. But my father-in-law excels at it. He's had six, that's right, six iPhones either left somewhere or stolen right from under him. Only once has he been actually pick pocketed. Most of those losses are actually due to his own negligence.

His most recent loss is one of the more dumbfounding occurrences. He was at a crowded bar in downtown Chicago one night and realized his phone was low on battery. Thankfully, he had brought a wall charger with him. There was an outlet on one side of the bar. But his friends were on the other. Solution: Plug in the iPhone at that outlet to charge it for a few minutes, go back over to be with friends. And, what do you know? The phone was stolen within 10 minutes.

Oye.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Sorry to hear that your phone got stolen. As you probably know, it's gone and there's is very little hope of any return. As soon as the phone has been factory reset, you won't be able to use the "find my phone" feature to see where it is.

You're right, the SIM has been removed, the battery too (if it's removable) and wrapped in tin foil. The police won't even try to search for the phone unless they happen to catch a thief and find a hoard of phones.

Looks like you'll need to let the insurance sort it out and get yourself a new handset.

wait, so you're saying if someone does a factory reset, my phne can't be found? When I selected to try the lock function, it gave me two options: one where I enter my cellular number and one where I don't have a cellular number. I chose the second.

So if a factory reset is done, the imei doesn't change, right? Therefore the find my phone feature should still be able to find it based on imei, right?

 

[skstrials]

I am sorry to hear about your loss. If it would make you feel any better, a new 1020 can be had for less than $200 now. But you probably want to move on to a new phone anyways.

I have never had my phone stolen before, but I am always mindful of that, which is why I do not pay more than $300 cad unlocked for a phone. It is just crazy to think that some phones can go for close to a grand.

Posted via the Windows Central App for BlackBerry 10

 

[Chintan Gohel]

I am sorry to hear about your loss. If it would make you feel any better, a new 1020 can be had for less than $200 now. But you probably want to move on to a new phone anyways.

I have never had my phone stolen before, but I am always mindful of that, which is why I do not pay more than $300 cad unlocked for a phone. It is just crazy to think that some phones can go for close to a grand.

Posted via the Windows Central App for BlackBerry 10

I bought it at 480USD and that was a 20% discount. I don't think I can get the same phone at less than 400USD locally. Importing wouldn't make sense. I'll just keep checking find my phone and in the meantime, I'm not getting a smartphone unless I win one