iPhone Security Tips ~ Plan for the Unexpected

I headed out for vacation to Sacramento and was excited to have the “Time of my life!”  On my second night out we headed to our second club, called Faces, which was very exciting.  The club setup was awesome.  They had three different dance areas that was playing three different songs by their respected DJ.  My friend and I were having a SUPER time…until my new iPhone 4s was stolen from my back pocket on one of the dance floors.  I won’t go into the heavy details (I still get a little sick to my stomach when I think about how things went down).  However; what I will do is tell you what you need to do if you have an Apple iPhone to prevent the anger and frustration that I have been going through.  I know this is not my normal type of blog post; but I felt that if I can arm you with the information that you will need, then maybe I can help you actually recover your phone if it is lost or stolen.

During my attempt to recover my phone I completed the following:

1.  I tracked down one of the security personnel from the club and reported what had happened.  In my line of thought, the more official people that knew about it, the better off my chances would be of actually recovering my phone.

2.  Next I received the phone number for the non-emergency Sacramento Police Department.  I found that instead of sending out a patrol vehicle; I had to go to my friends house, log onto their website, and then file a report online.

3.  After filing the online report I then tackled the task of changing ALL of my passwords to the sites, emails, etc. that were linked to my cell phone.  I put on the mindset that they were NOT going to steal any more information from me!  I never realized how much of my life is linked to my cell phone.

4.  Due to the time that we arrived at my friends house, I had to wait until later in the day to call my cell phone provider.  When I called AT&T I was told that they “couldn’t” track my cell phone.

*Even though the bastards that stole my phone were playing on the internet (I have kept an eye on my AT&T account – you can see phone numbers that have been dialed and received and the same for text messages.  I found this unacceptable and continued on finding ways to track my phone).

5.  Next I hit the internet and Google Search became my best friend (not that we weren’t already close lol).  Unfortunately, my pal Google Search did not have good news for me.  You will see the results on the section below telling you How to Arm your Apple iPhone.

6.  One of my last hopes was going to visit Best Buy Mobile about getting a replacement iPhone because I had purchased the insurance through them.  We arrived only to find out that Best Buy Mobile’s insurance covers pretty much everything EXCEPT for theft and loss.  I hadn’t cried yet, but at this point I reached my limit of lack of help/response.  Needless to say, I finally broke down and cried.  My friend helped me dry my eyes and we went on with our day.

7.  When we got back to her house I tried one more option.  I called the local police department to follow up with the report that I had filed.  The dispatcher listened to what had happened, the steps I had taken so far, and he could practically hear my desperation.  He sounded very shocked that AT&T said that they “couldn’t” track my phone.  He said that an officer should be calling me to follow up on the report when it goes through processing.

8.  At this point I’m feeling pretty beat down.  An iPhone can be replaced.  It’s the principle that keeps me continuing to search for a way to track down my phone.  These people were working in teams and I wanted them to get busted for it.  If they don’t, then who’s to say that they won’t continue to do it.  After all, no one seems to want to help and the average Joe probably would have already given up.  I called AT&T and received a gentleman that gave me one last hope.  He patched me through to the Apple side to see if they could track it.  Unfortunately for me, it was a no go.

How to Arm your Apple iPhone

After speaking with just about EVERYONE imaginable in Sacramento, I have discovered that if I had completed the following steps then I would already have my phone back into my hands.

Step one:  Completely and successfully back up your iPhone to iCloud.  There is a program in iCloud that is a phone tracker.  You don’t need to purchase an app from the app store because it already comes with your phone!  Once you successfully activate it, you can very easily pinpoint the exact location of your phone if they have left it turned on.  In my case I probably could have had it back within a few hours since they were using the internet on it.

Step two:   Back up your phone with iCloud at least once a week.  This ensures that your information on your phone is as up to date as possible.  This is good to do in case anything else ever happens to your phone; water gets spilled on it and you end up having to get it replaced, it accidentally get set back to factory settings, the list is endless.

Step three:  Create a security code/lock onto the keypad.  You need to have it as locked down as you possibly can.  I don’t know about you guys, but there are pictures on my phone that I’d rather not have strangers view.

On a Happier Note….

Even though I am extremely frustrated, I am determined to have fun for the remainder of my vacation.  I refuse to let those two bastards ruin it for me.  Yesterday we drove five hours to reach Shelter Cove.  When we arrived we settled in and then had a fire in a nifty fire pit area and roasted hot dogs and made S’Mores.  Today we are heading to the beach for a bit (WOOHOO)!  Also included in the plans will be to visit Clam Beach.  When we head back Friday, we are planning on making several stops at different nifty looking shops.  I brought a couple of cameras with me, so I foresee myself taking a TON of pictures.

Until Next Time,

CreaturesWithInk