Incident guide
Phone or laptop lost or stolen
A phone, laptop or tablet is gone and may be in someone else's hands, with your accounts and messages on it.
Work through the steps in order. Tick a step when it is done; ticks stay in this browser. If a step does not apply to you, skip it.
Is this your situation?
- You cannot find the device and do not know where you last had it.
- It was taken from you, from a bag or from a car.
- You left it in a taxi, a shop or another public place.
- It held banking or payment apps, work e-mail or saved passwords.
Steps
First 15 minutes
The same day
The following days
Do not
- Do not try to get a stolen device back yourself. Give the location to the police.
- Do not wait to see whether it turns up before you call the operator and the bank.
- Do not leave accounts signed in on the lost device.
- Do not pay anyone who says they can unlock it for a fee.
Keep as evidence
- Model, serial number and IMEI, and the receipt if you have it.
- The time and place you last had it, and what you did next.
- Screenshots of the location shown by the find-my-device service.
- The reference numbers from the operator, the bank and the police.
Where to report
Anywhere
Your mobile operator
When: Right away.
How: Ask for the line to be suspended and for a replacement SIM. Keep the reference number.
Your bank or card issuer
When: Today, if banking or payment apps or cards were on the device.
How: Call the number on the back of your card or on the bank's official site, say what happened and ask for a reference number.
Your IT contact or provider
When: Today, if the device held work data.
How: Tell your employer or IT contact what was on it and when you lost it.
In Turkey
Police station, public prosecutor's office or the Cybercrime Branch Directorate (EGM)
When: If it was stolen or you want the loss on record.
How: Apply with a signed petition handed in person; the EGM FAQ says petitions are not accepted by e-mail. For offences that depend on a complaint, the person affected has to apply. Take the evidence you kept.
Reading from outside Turkey: contact your national CERT or the cybercrime unit of your local police. The Turkish channels above are for people in Turkey.
Incident log
Notes stay in this browser on this device and are never sent to ZEKASTRA or anyone else. Anyone who uses this browser profile can read them, so clear the log when you are done.
Sources
This guide is general information, not legal advice. It cannot recover an account or money. Follow the instructions of your bank, your employer and the authorities.