Lost your mobile phone? Easy ways to get back your gadget

What you should be doing to get your lost or stolen phone back. Note down the IMEI number and use HawkEye app of the Hyderabad Police

Hyderabad: Did you lose your mobile phone? Or was it stolen?

Here is what you should do to get back your gadget.

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“If anyone loses his or her mobile phone, they should immediately approach the local police station and lodge a complaint. One can also log into the Hawk Eye application of the Telangana Police, register a complaint and furnish details of the gadget,” informs M Sridhar Reddy, Inspector (IT), Rachakonda.

The police, after getting a complaint, put the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) on tracking.

“Whenever the phone is reactivated anywhere in the country, we get to know. Once we get the location too, we track down the person who is using it and get it back,” he adds.

L Raja Venkat Reddy, Inspector (IT Cell), Hyderabad, says they have so far tracked down around 500 mobile phones.

“It is necessary that the owner of the gadget notes down the IMEI number so that in case the phone is lost, they can give us the number to enable tracking,” he says, adding that complaints can be lodged via direct walk-in at the police station and if the phone is insured, approach a MeeSeva Centre and obtain a lost certificate after paying a fee there.

Syed Amjad Ali, SHO (Bhavaninagar) suggests that people can also install tracking applications or make sure the tracking facilities available on Android or iOS systems are enabled.

Generally the phones reactivated in India can be tracked down while those sent across to foreign countries are difficult. The police suspect that many phones are sent to Nepal and Bangladesh where they are sold.

Hawk Eye

Hawk Eye, the Telangana Police mobile application, is helping persons who lose their mobile phones to lodge complaints without having to approach a police station. Based on the IMEI number, the City Police trace the mobile phone and return it to the owner. It is important for the complainant to have the box of the gadget or the receipt for evidence purpose. Otherwise, it will be difficult for them to prove the ownership of the mobile, a police official said.

The Hawk Eye app has the facility to cross-check the IMEI number of a mobile, particularly in the event of purchasing a second-hand mobile phone, and enables the user to know if the phone is a stolen one. What one has to do is to go to the ‘Vehicle and Mobile Search’ link and enter the IMEI number. The app lets them know whether the phone is stolen or lost, and if it is, the app enables the user to inform the police, who can then trace the owner and return it.

How to get a stolen or lost phone back:

• Gather information like make and model of the mobile, IMEI /PUC number, phone number, description of when and where you lost it

• Get SIM deactivated immediately by informing service provider; There is also an advantage in waiting if an honest person finds and tries to contact

• Protect data by changing passwords if the phone is synced with Gmail, Google Contacts, Google Calendar etc.

• It is wise to change passwords immediately so that data remains safe

Buying a used mobile?Here is the checklist:

• Verify IMEI number/ Electronic Serial Number in Stolen Mobile Registry of Hyderabad

• Insist on bill with IMEI written on it

• If you find a stolen mobile, inform the police

• If the IMEI sticker is tampered or erased in the battery slot, do not buy

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