Find my iPhone
Discussion
If I lost my phone I woudl be very concerned about security and possible identity theft / comproised accounts,
Some things to consider:
If you had it locked to your iCloud account it means the phone is pretty useless to the theif for resale until is is unlocked.
Theives will try to remove the iCloud lock vai social engineering and phishing email claiming to be form apple in order to get you to reveal your password.
A friends iPhone was stolen last summer they then tried the following:
Locking the SIM prevents step 1.
Not linking your phone number to your social media accounts (or better still not being on social media prevents step 2).
See also:
https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-secur...
https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/10297...
Some things to consider:
- Do you have a strong PIN
- Is it locked to your ICloud account?
- Did you have a SIM PIN
- Be on the lokout for any strange emails / activity on any of you online accounts.
- If you think any account might be compromised (or in danger of being compromised) change the password
If you had it locked to your iCloud account it means the phone is pretty useless to the theif for resale until is is unlocked.
Theives will try to remove the iCloud lock vai social engineering and phishing email claiming to be form apple in order to get you to reveal your password.
A friends iPhone was stolen last summer they then tried the following:
- The theif removed the SIM and put it into another phone in order to determine the number.
- From the number they managed to get his name and compromise his facebook account (via some Facebook recovery input number to reveal username, then use the phone number to reset the facebook password).
- From the compromised Facebook account they sent his wife a message asking for the and iCloud password reminder...
Locking the SIM prevents step 1.
Not linking your phone number to your social media accounts (or better still not being on social media prevents step 2).
See also:
https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-secur...
https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/10297...
Edited by jesusbuiltmycar on Monday 14th October 15:17
Lynchie999 said:
... if you have a google account on it, look at your maps history and location data ...
I just tried that but it is not showing any recent data for some reason, maybe because I didn't use the app on Saturday and or it is only using my location when the app is open. Actually it is not showing any data for me in the Netherlands at all and I've been living here since May.Edited by NSNO on Monday 14th October 15:56
NSNO said:
No my phone number isn't linked to my social media. I have a pass code on the phone, but I'm sure they could get pass this or do a factory reset. I haven't seen any e-mails and would trust them if I did see one for phishing.
If you've got any icloud stuff on there, then (barring some decent hacking tools) it should not allow them to do a factory reset and it will simply brick the phone.The best they could use it for is spares (plenty of parts for sale on ebay).
NSNO said:
No my phone number isn't linked to my social media. I have a pass code on the phone, but I'm sure they could get pass this or do a factory reset. I haven't seen any e-mails and would trust them if I did see one for phishing.
Did you enable the option for the phone to erase its contents after 10 incorrect PIN entry attempts?iOS increases the amount of time between incorrect attempts after the 4th attempt, with the wait between the 9th and 10th attempt being an hour long. This is a cushion to protect against easily bored thieves (you may still find the phone) and over-enthusiastic children.
Cybertronian said:
Did you enable the option for the phone to erase its contents after 10 incorrect PIN entry attempts?
iOS increases the amount of time between incorrect attempts after the 4th attempt, with the wait between the 9th and 10th attempt being an hour long. This is a cushion to protect against easily bored thieves (you may still find the phone) and over-enthusiastic children.
No I didn't have this option selected. If someone has the phone then either it is switched off or they've removed the sim as it doesn't ring at all when I try and phone it.iOS increases the amount of time between incorrect attempts after the 4th attempt, with the wait between the 9th and 10th attempt being an hour long. This is a cushion to protect against easily bored thieves (you may still find the phone) and over-enthusiastic children.
NSNO said:
No I didn't have this option selected. If someone has the phone then either it is switched off or they've removed the sim as it doesn't ring at all when I try and phone it.
Your phone might actually be where you lost it - eg the bars etc you visited. My son had his phone returned to a bar in HK and got it back after it was found outside at a table.Might be worth a couple of phone calls to the venues?
andygo said:
NSNO said:
No I didn't have this option selected. If someone has the phone then either it is switched off or they've removed the sim as it doesn't ring at all when I try and phone it.
Your phone might actually be where you lost it - eg the bars etc you visited. My son had his phone returned to a bar in HK and got it back after it was found outside at a table.Might be worth a couple of phone calls to the venues?
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