Losing a smartphone is one of the worst
nightmares that can happen to you,
especially if the device is one of the high-
end handsets that cost you a fortune.
Recently, a friend came to me looking
utterly distraught. “My phone is gone!” he
declared. I could see tears rolling down
from his eyes. His sadness and worries
were clearly visible and palpable.
The phone that he had lost was an
expensive Android phone he had bought
about two weeks earlier. With the
technology offered in the latest
smartphones, he had his entire business
and personal life uploaded to that phone.
His emails, photos (some of which were
pretty sensitive) and contacts were all
there. This is not to mention how easily
one could get into his social media
accounts, as well as online and mobile
banking accounts through the phone.
My friend obviously had a million reasons
in this world to feel like a chicken with its
head cut off. He had gone to the bank and
placed the phone on a bench as he was
filling out some forms.
A couple of minutes after leaving the
banking hall, he remembered that he no
longer had possession of his phone. He
rushed back to the bank, but his frantic
search for the phone was not successful.
The staff at the bank even went over the
CCTV footage but owing to the large
amount of human traffic in the banking
hall, nothing conclusive was found.
My friend had an Android Device Manager
in his phone. Android Device Manager has
some remote phone tracking capabilities.
My friend had already tried to call his
phone number, but there was no response.
This could have been coincidental because
the phone’s battery was already dying at
the time he was at the bank, however, it
could probably be that whoever had picked
it had already removed and most likely
replaced the SIM.
Since the phone was synced to his online
Google credentials, Android Device
Manager would help to locate the phone
when the phone was connected to the
internet through mobile or Wi-Fi. It is also
possible to lock or wipe my friend’s
credentials remotely using Android Device
Manager.
We, therefore, used my friend’s details to
log into Android Device Manager Web
portal. Unfortunately, we could not trace
the phone. This could have resulted from
the person resetting it to factory settings. If
this had happened, then we would have
better luck finding a pin in a haystack
than tracing the phone!
Nonetheless, we used Android Manager to
set a message on the phone’s lock screen.
The message was simple “if you find this
phone; please contact me on XX-Bleep-
XXXX a cash reward of ….. Naira will be
given.” We even changed the phone name
to read the same message.
If we did not get a reply in the next few
days, we would have to remotely wipe the
data on the phone, block the phone and
deactivate the SIM.
My friend, on the other hand, had already
given up and was planning on saving up
for a new phone. Nonetheless, two hours
later, the kind stranger who had picked the
phone called. We planned a meeting where
he obtained his reward, and we received
the phone.
There are a few lessons that we can pick
up from this experience.
In case you lose your phone:
• Do not panic; calmly retrace your steps
to where you last remember having the
phone. Try calling your phone and ask
around if anyone has seen it.
• Ensure that the phone is locked; this is
a precaution that you ought to take before
you lose the phone. Locking your phone
with a PIN or password will keep the
personal details safe in the event of your
phone disappearing.
• Install a tracker app in your phone;
having Android Device Manager or Find My
iPhone may not be adequate. There are
several third party apps that are excellent
phone trackers. Such apps will be of great
help in finding your phone. Use the phone
tracker software to find your phone.
• Leave a message on the phone; the
phone tracing app should easily help you
put a message on the phone’s lock-
screen. Let anyone who finds the phone
know how he or she can reach you. The
message had better be simple and
straightforward. Incentives such as cash
can be promised for returning the phone.
• Do not judge; it would be wrong to
assume that whoever has your phone stole
it. It could be that the individual picked it
up with no bad intention. Your interactions
with the finder should, therefore, be
positive.
• Contact your mobile provider; this is
especially important if you are on a post-
paid talk-time plan. Calling the mobile
provider will not only deactivate the SIM
but will also help you block the phone.
• Finally, when meeting the person who
finds your phone; be cautious. Meet in a
public place and have a friend or two to
accompany you.
Someone reading this might be asking; is
this possible in Nigeria? I’d say yes
because aside my friend, someone has
actually returned my phone that dropped
while stepping out of the car and after we
met and he is back, I gave him a cash
reward.

.

Nice one, I have an app that uses the front camera to snap the pics of anybody that try to access the phone and sends it to my alternate email, this is also a good app

ayogabriel: Nice one, I have an app that uses the front camera to snap the pics of anybody that try to access the phone and sends it to my alternate email, this is also a good app

What's the name of the app?

Quality Camera can be of help in getting zoomed images. also with an effective monitoring station, it would be easy to retrace the events. Please check this link if you need more information
https://www.nairaland.com/1820913/ip-surveillance-camera-cctv-solution#24826538

Akbee: Losing a smartphone is one of the worst
nightmares that can happen to you,
especially if the device is one of the high-
end handsets that cost you a fortune.
Recently, a friend came to me looking
utterly distraught. “My phone is gone!” he
declared. I could see tears rolling down
from his eyes. His sadness and worries
were clearly visible and palpable.
The phone that he had lost was an
expensive Android phone he had bought
about two weeks earlier. With the
technology offered in the latest
smartphones, he had his entire business
and personal life uploaded to that phone.
His emails, photos (some of which were
pretty sensitive) and contacts were all
there. This is not to mention how easily
one could get into his social media
accounts, as well as online and mobile
banking accounts through the phone.
My friend obviously had a million reasons
in this world to feel like a chicken with its
head cut off. He had gone to the bank and
placed the phone on a bench as he was
filling out some forms.
A couple of minutes after leaving the
banking hall, he remembered that he no
longer had possession of his phone. He
rushed back to the bank, but his frantic
search for the phone was not successful.
The staff at the bank even went over the
CCTV footage but owing to the large
amount of human traffic in the banking
hall, nothing conclusive was found.
My friend had an Android Device Manager
in his phone. Android Device Manager has
some remote phone tracking capabilities.
My friend had already tried to call his
phone number, but there was no response.
This could have been coincidental because
the phone’s battery was already dying at
the time he was at the bank, however, it
could probably be that whoever had picked
it had already removed and most likely
replaced the SIM.
Since the phone was synced to his online
Google credentials, Android Device
Manager would help to locate the phone
when the phone was connected to the
internet through mobile or Wi-Fi. It is also
possible to lock or wipe my friend’s
credentials remotely using Android Device
Manager.
We, therefore, used my friend’s details to
log into Android Device Manager Web
portal. Unfortunately, we could not trace
the phone. This could have resulted from
the person resetting it to factory settings. If
this had happened, then we would have
better luck finding a pin in a haystack
than tracing the phone!
Nonetheless, we used Android Manager to
set a message on the phone’s lock screen.
The message was simple “if you find this
phone; please contact me on XX-Bleep-
XXXX a cash reward of ….. Naira will be
given.” We even changed the phone name
to read the same message.
If we did not get a reply in the next few
days, we would have to remotely wipe the
data on the phone, block the phone and
deactivate the SIM.
My friend, on the other hand, had already
given up and was planning on saving up
for a new phone. Nonetheless, two hours
later, the kind stranger who had picked the
phone called. We planned a meeting where
he obtained his reward, and we received
the phone.
There are a few lessons that we can pick
up from this experience.
In case you lose your phone:
• Do not panic; calmly retrace your steps
to where you last remember having the
phone. Try calling your phone and ask
around if anyone has seen it.
• Ensure that the phone is locked; this is
a precaution that you ought to take before
you lose the phone. Locking your phone
with a PIN or password will keep the
personal details safe in the event of your
phone disappearing.
• Install a tracker app in your phone;
having Android Device Manager or Find My
iPhone may not be adequate. There are
several third party apps that are excellent
phone trackers. Such apps will be of great
help in finding your phone. Use the phone
tracker software to find your phone.
• Leave a message on the phone; the
phone tracing app should easily help you
put a message on the phone’s lock-
screen. Let anyone who finds the phone
know how he or she can reach you. The
message had better be simple and
straightforward. Incentives such as cash
can be promised for returning the phone.
• Do not judge; it would be wrong to
assume that whoever has your phone stole
it. It could be that the individual picked it
up with no bad intention. Your interactions
with the finder should, therefore, be
positive.
• Contact your mobile provider; this is
especially important if you are on a post-
paid talk-time plan. Calling the mobile
provider will not only deactivate the SIM
but will also help you block the phone.
• Finally, when meeting the person who
finds your phone; be cautious. Meet in a
public place and have a friend or two to
accompany you.
Someone reading this might be asking; is
this possible in Nigeria? I’d say yes
because aside my friend, someone has
actually returned my phone that dropped
while stepping out of the car and after we
met and he is back, I gave him a cash
reward.