What to Do If You Lose Your Smartphone (ft. Crypto Investors)

Hello, this is Bitpunk. Today, let's look at what to do when you lose your smartphone. Usually, the standard approach is to report the lost phone and track its location with an app like "Find My Phone."

But if you're a crypto investor holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other coins, the story is a bit different. In particular, investors who used overseas exchanges like Binance or mobile wallets like MetaMask can't help but feel even more anxious.

Actually, that's exactly what happened to me. The first time I lost my smartphone, I panicked. Fortunately, I quickly took the steps below and was able to protect my accounts and keep my funds safe.

1. Report Your Lost Smartphone

The very first thing I did was call my mobile carrier and report that my smartphone was lost. Doing this locks the SIM card so it can't be used anywhere else.

Also, since the report is by default shared with the police as well, you'll be in a position to respond to any leaks of personal information or illegal activity that may happen later. If you've lost your smartphone, call your carrier right away and report it lost.

2. Track Your Smartphone's Location

Modern devices like the iPhone and Galaxy let you visit the official website and track where your device currently is. However, this feature only works on smartphones where it was set up in advance.

If the feature was enabled, you can check where your device is right now using "Find My Device." See whether your phone might have been dropped or is being kept somewhere you can retrieve it. You can also add your contact information to the device's lock screen, so be sure to do that too.

If you haven't lost your smartphone yet, be sure to turn on the "location tracking" feature. When it's enabled, you can use another device or the web to track your smartphone's location and send it alerts.

3. Log In to Your Exchanges and Remove the Device

The next important step is to log in to overseas exchanges like Binance or Bybit, as well as exchanges like Upbit, and remove your old smartphone from the "trusted devices" list. This way, that device can no longer access the exchange directly, and additional verification will be required.

Simply removing the trusted device means two-factor authentication will be required to log in to the exchange or make a withdrawal. But if you don't remove the device, your assets can be accessed the moment the phone is unlocked, so acting quickly is important.

4. Check Your Mobile Wallet Backups

If you used MetaMask, OKX Wallet, or similar on your phone, this step is also important. If you backed up the mnemonic phrase for that wallet in advance, you can easily restore the wallet.

Restore the wallet using a smartphone you haven't lost or a PC app, and access your existing assets. Then, if you're worried about additional security, you can move the assets in the wallet to a new, different wallet.

5. Check Your Email Login Security

You should also log in to the email accounts you mainly use, such as Google or Naver, and check the security settings. Go to the "Security" tab and reset the list of trusted devices.

Also, if possible, it's a good idea to change your password to a new one. Keep in mind that if whoever found your smartphone gains access to your email, the accounts linked to it could be at risk.

6. Remotely Wipe Your Smartphone

The last thing you can do is wipe your smartphone remotely. For an iPhone, you can log in to your Apple account, report the device as lost, and remotely perform a factory reset of the smartphone.

This is a step you can take if you think you won't get the phone back, or if you're worried about personal information leaking in the meantime even if you do find it. However, keep in mind that if you reset the phone by erasing it, you won't be able to recover the existing data.

Wrapping Up

That covers what to do when you lose your smartphone. I actually lost my phone while traveling abroad, and because of that I was very worried about my personal information and funds leaking.

Fortunately, since I had regularly set up Google Authenticator, backed up my mnemonic phrases, and configured passkeys, I was able to restore my exchange accounts and wallets easily. If I hadn't kept good backups, this incident could have been truly devastating.

For reference, I was using an iPhone, and when I checked the device's location, it turned out to be in Vietnam. I figured I'd never get it back, so I also wiped the smartphone remotely. Thankfully, since I had Face ID set up on an iPhone with strong security, it seems unlikely that anyone could access the accounts on it.

This experience reminded me once again how important it is to keep good backups of information related to exchanges and accounts, and to strengthen security with two-factor authentication and passkeys.

The best thing, of course, is not to lose your phone in the first place. But it's important to prepare ahead of time for the unexpected, and if something does happen, to act quickly to keep your precious assets safe.