Lost or stolen phone: block it so no one else can use it
For a phone that's lost or stolen. Block it so it can't be used on any network, report it to the police, and secure the accounts that were open on it. If money has already been taken from an account, follow the separate guide for money taken by UPI or bank fraud instead.
Do this first
- 1
Block your SIM
Call your mobile operator's customer care from another phone and ask them to block your SIM. This stops anyone else from receiving your calls, SMS or OTPs on your number. Ask for a duplicate SIM with the same number at the same time. You will need it: the form that blocks the phone sends its OTP to your old number.
- 2
Tell your bank
If you had banking or UPI apps on the phone, call your bank now and ask them to block your card, UPI and net banking as a precaution, even if you have no reason yet to think money has been taken.
- 3
Note the IMEI if you can
Check the box, the invoice, or the device list in your Google or Apple account for the phone's IMEI number. You'll need it to block the phone.
Step by step
- 1
File a police complaint first
Do this before you try to block the phone. The CEIR block request asks for your police complaint number and a copy of the complaint, so you need one in hand first.
Go to your local police station, or use the Uttarakhand Police citizen portal: Complaint Registration if it was stolen, Lost Property Registration if you lost it. You have to create an account on the portal first. Ask for a complaint number and a copy or acknowledgement you can upload later.
- 2
Block the phone on CEIR
This is the Government's Central Equipment Identity Register. Blocking it here stops the phone from being used on any network with any SIM, not just yours.
The form asks for:
- A working duplicate SIM of the lost number, in another phone. The form sends the OTP there.
- Your mobile number and the phone's 15-digit IMEI number (from the box, the invoice, or the device list in your Google or Apple account)
- The phone brand and model, and roughly what it cost
- Where and when you lost it, and the state, district and police station
- The police complaint number, and an uploaded copy of the complaint
- Your name, address and a photo ID: Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID or driving licence. If you upload Aadhaar it must be the masked version, or the form rejects it.
- An invoice for the phone, if you have one (not compulsory)
- 3
Keep the request ID it gives you
Use it to check your request status, or to recover it if you forget it, on the same Sanchar Saathi CEIR page. If you find the phone later, there's a separate "Unblock found mobile" request on the same page.
- 4
Check nothing else is running on your ID
If an ID card was in the phone or its case, check Know Mobile Connections in Your Name on Sanchar Saathi to see if any mobile number has been taken on your ID that you don't recognise. See the separate guide on mobile numbers issued on your ID for what to do if you find one.
- 5
Secure the accounts that were open on the phone
Change the passwords on any account you were logged into on the phone: email, social media, and anything else. Log them out of other devices from the account's own security settings where that's possible.
If you were logged into WhatsApp on the phone, log out of WhatsApp Web on any computer you used it on.
If money has actually been taken from a bank or UPI account, stop here and follow the guide for money taken by UPI or bank fraud instead of this one.
- 6
If the phone or your ID is used to cheat someone
Report it on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, under Other Cyber Crime.
If money is taken from an account because of this, call 1930 first and follow the guide for money taken by UPI or bank fraud.
Watch out
- Anyone who calls offering to 'track and recover' your phone for a fee, outside the steps above, is almost certainly a scammer.
- Don't share an OTP with anyone claiming to help you block or unblock your phone, including someone claiming to call from your operator or the police.
When an advocate can help
You can do every step above yourself. An advocate helps when:
- The police won't register your complaint or give you a complaint number, which you need for the CEIR block request
- You need a formal FIR for an insurance claim or for your employer
Sources
- Block a lost or stolen phone (CEIR) · Department of Telecommunications
- CEIR: lost or stolen phone block request form · Department of Telecommunications
- Know Mobile Connections in Your Name · Department of Telecommunications
- Uttarakhand Police citizen portal · Uttarakhand Police
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal · Ministry of Home Affairs
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This guide explains how to report a problem through official channels. It is not legal advice.