Everything you need to know about filing a complaint and requesting service deactivation

Nov 21, 2012 21:41 GMT  ·  By

A recent infographic released by Protect Your Bubble has revealed some interesting facts about smartphone loss and theft in the United States. Although I hope you never lose your phone, statistically speaking, chances are that someday you will.

If that day comes, according to mobile security firm Lookout, first, you must try to find it. It's likely that you’ve misplaced the device at the office, the coffee shop, your apartment, a restaurant or at a gas station.

In case you realize that there’s no chance for you to get it back, you must immediately contact your carrier and ask them to deactivate the service. If the phone is stolen, it’s likely that the thief will try to make some long distance phone calls.

To have the service deactivated, call one of these numbers, depending on your carrier:

Metro PCS: 1-888-863-8768 US Cellular: 1-888-944-9400 Verizon: 1-800-922-0204 Sprint: 1-888-211-4727 AT&T: 1-800-801-1101 T-Mobile: 1-800-937-8997

They’ll provide you with all the necessary details on how to report the crime or what to do in case you have insurance for your phone.

As a proactive measure, experts advise users to install security applications that are capable of tracing the phone, or at least locking the information stored on it.