What To Do If Your Cell Phone is Lost or Stolen
Here's a little known fact: If your cell phone is stolen, the wireless company can hold you liable for all charges made from the time it was stolen until you report the theft. One woman was reportedly charged $26,000 when her cell phone was stolen just before she left for a vacation in another county. Credit card issuers are required by law to limit the liability a consumer has for fraudulent charges, but cell phone companies are not. So you'll want to report a lost or stolen cell phone immediately. It's also a good idea to note the name of the person you spoke with, along with the time and date. Ask for confirmation in writing that your phone has been disabled. You might want to consider filing a police report too.
However, fraudulent charges may be the last thing on your mind when your cell phone is stolen. All the information, such as phone numbers, stored in your phone is now in the potentially dangerous hands of a stranger. Contact anyone whose phone number you have stored by relationship ('Mom', 'Grandpa', 'Hubby') instead of their name to let them know your phone was stolen so they can be wary of calls and text messages coming through. Identity theft has been known to take place when a stolen cell phone was used to text 'hubby' asking for a PIN reminder.
Better yet, don't save any names this way. Why take a chance on identity theft?
