My Precious: 9 Things You Should Do If You Lose Your Phone

Mobile phones are infinitely important to us civilized people trying to survive in this cruel metropolis. Nowadays our phone is an extension of our body, using it to be social; using it to pay for things instead of carrying our wallets; calling a taxi; and buying stuff from JD, the list goes on. Hopefully this never happens to you, but just in case, you may want to save this blog in case you do the one thing that's more mafan than everything else combined (slight exaggeration for entertainment purposes): losing your phone.

So, what should you do? Your phone, after all, has all your pictures, and your WeChat wallet is linked to your bank account. Well, first, check that it isn't just in your hand.

Not there? Let's take a deep breath and continue.

1. Call yourself
Yep, this classic trick. Find another phone to call yourself immediately. Nothing? Ok, moving on.

2. Tell your family and friends
Tell your family and notify them that you have lost your phone. Post a message on social media. Your network will know that it's not you if someone asks to borrow money.

3. Report your SIM lost to your provider
Call your phone carrier, and report the loss of your SIM card. They will require a password, but your passport details and name will also work in order to freeze your sim. You could also pay a visit to their nearest branch.

FYI:

• China Mobile: 10086;
• China Union: 10010;
• China Telecom: 10000.

4. Freeze your bank account
If your WeChat wallet is linked to your bank account, don’t forget to call the bank to freeze your account.

Here are several useful bank hotlines:

• Bank of China: 95566;
• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC): 95588;
• China Merchants Bank (CMBC): 95555;
• the Agricultural Bank of China: 95599;
• Bank of Communications: 95559;
• China Construction Bank (CCB): 95533;
• China Citic Bank: 95558;
• China Everbright Bank (CEB): 95595;
• China Minsheng Banking Corp (CMBC): 95568;
• China Guangfa Bank: 95508;
• Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB): 95528;
• Huaxia Bank: 95577.

5. Report the loss to Alipay
If you have linked your card with Alipay, which allows completion of small transactions without a password, then you've got to cancel quickly. Call Alipay’s hotline (95188) and unlink your telephone number from Alipay. Or log in from a computer and freeze your account.

6. Freeze your WeChat Wallet
Sure, you linked your bank account with WeChat wallet to make your life easier, but now you've got to put a stop to it. Log in here, and freeze your WeChat via the following steps:

7. Change passwords for all of your social media
Most of the apps on your phone don’t require passwords, so sit down and be patient, even it takes some time to change all the passwords for your social media and online shopping apps. It's worth it, because you don't want to risk someone posing as you online. Here's how to reset your passwords:

8. Get your contacts back
If you don’t have a backup on iTunes, the screenshot above shows how WeChat can help you get most of your contacts back, depending on when the last backup was made. To enable, follow this: WeChat -> Me -> Settings -> General -> Features -> Contacts Sync -> Enable.

9. Report to the police
If you happen to have an iPhone and enabled the “Find My iPhone” feature, there’s still a chance to get it back. Report your phone stolen to the police, and if you are lucky, they may even get it back for you if they stumble across it. However, we don't really put too much hope in this method. The best thing to do is change your passwords, make sure nobody can steal any money, and move on with your life.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure

Photos: Dumpaday, blog.asurion, App Store, utfcu.org,