What to do if…
your phone or wallet is lost and your cards are exposed to misuse

What to do now

1. Stop every exposed card.

   • Use each bank or card app to freeze the card or report it lost or stolen.
   • If you cannot use the app, use the card issuer’s official website or a number from a statement or another trusted source.
   • Include cards saved in Apple Pay, Google Wallet, transport apps, shopping apps, or subscription accounts if they might be exposed.

2. Check for misuse and tell the bank what you see.

   • Look at pending and completed transactions.
   • Report any payment you do not recognise through the bank or card provider’s fraud route.
   • Write down the time you noticed the loss, what is missing, and any suspicious payments, so you do not have to rely on memory.

3. Lock the missing phone.

   • For an iPhone, use Find My or iCloud to mark the device as lost.
   • For an Android phone, use Google’s find, secure, or erase tools.
   • If the map shows the phone somewhere unfamiliar and you think it was stolen, do not go there yourself.

4. Block the SIM and phone network access.

   • Contact your mobile provider as soon as you can.
   • Ask them to bar the SIM so it cannot be used for calls, texts, or account verification.
   • Ask whether they can block the IMEI so the handset is harder to use on mobile networks.

5. Protect the account that controls the phone.

   • From a different trusted device, change the password for your Apple Account or Google Account.
   • Sign out of other sessions if the account gives you that option.
   • Change the password for the email account used for banking resets if that email was accessible on the missing phone.

6. Deal carefully with remote erase.

   • Lock or lost mode comes first.
   • Consider remote erase if recovery seems unlikely or the phone contains sensitive information.
   • Before erasing an iPhone, check whether you need the device kept in Find My or your Apple Account for a theft or loss claim.

7. Report theft or fraud where appropriate.

   • If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or the theft is happening now, call 999.
   • If fraud or cyber crime has happened in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, report it to Report Fraud and save any reference you receive.
   • If you live in Scotland, report fraud through Police Scotland by calling 101 or using the Police Scotland route.
   • If the phone or wallet was stolen, report the theft to police by calling 101 or using the appropriate online police reporting route.
   • If you report a stolen phone, include the IMEI if you have it or can get it from your mobile provider.

8. If ID documents were in the wallet, reduce identity-fraud risk.

   • Make a list of missing ID documents, driving licence, passes, and address documents.
   • Watch for letters, emails, deliveries, or account messages about credit or services you did not apply for.
   • Consider Cifas Protective Registration if personal details were exposed, especially if documents with your name, date of birth, or address were lost. It is for identity-fraud risk, not for stopping card transactions.