Phone Stolen? Things to do to keep your banking details and online wallet safe

Do you know that thieves these days look for just one thing once they get hold of your mobile phones? Your bank details. Not to forget with more and more people opting for digital payment apps, it’s not that difficult for smartphone thieves to access these wallets. To give you an example: criminals in Brazil’s Sao Paulo were reportedly stealing iPhone handsets not to resell but to access the bank details of the owners of these devices and steal their money. 

With such incidents coming to light, the only way ahead is to stay careful and follow these steps immediately if you lose your phone or if it gets stolen.  

Block your SIM card

The first and foremost is to ensure the phone number isn’t misused if or when you lose the phone. Blocking the SIM card also means blocking every app on the phone that can be accessed via OTPs. You can always get the same number issued on a new SIM card. It may take a while, but your privacy and mobile wallets are far more important. 

Block access to mobile banking services

They are just a tap away and therefore it’s important to block access to these services. Your SIM card and mobile apps go hand-in-hand, for no transfer can happen without an OTP on the registered number, but both need to be blocked as soon as the phone is lost or gets stolen. 

Deactivate UPI payment

A small delay can cost you dearly. Once the access to online banking services is denied, the thief may try to fiddle with another feature, UPI payments, and hence this, too, needs to be taken care of immediately. Deactivate it as soon as possible.

Block all mobile wallets

They have made lives extremely easy but mobile wallets such as Google Pay and Paytm may well prove to be costly if your phone reaches the wrong hands. Get in touch with the respective app’s help desk and ensure no access is granted to anyone until you set up the wallets again on a new device. 

Go to the police, file a report

Once you have taken care of the aforementioned things, it’s crucial to report the matter to the authorities. Ask for a copy of FIR, which you can then use as evidence just in case the phone is misused or your money is stolen despite taking all the measures.