Start with the mobile connection: contact your operator to block the lost SIM and arrange a duplicate. Then report the loss or theft to police and prepare the handset-blocking request. Protect your bank accounts and online accounts alongside these steps. Do not wait for every document before asking providers to secure access.
Use a trusted phone or computer and keep an incident note. Record what happened, when you last had the phone, which numbers were in it and what actions you have completed. Ask someone you trust to help if necessary, while keeping passwords and verification codes under your control.
Block the SIM and request a duplicate
UP Police's lost-phone guidance advises immediately blocking the SIM and having it reissued. Contact your operator through its established customer service or an authorised store. Explain that the handset is missing and ask for confirmation that the old SIM has been blocked.
List every connection used in the missing handset and contact each relevant operator. Ask what identification is needed for replacement and how you will receive confirmation. Record the service-request number. Do not rely on an unknown caller offering to complete the replacement remotely for a payment.
A replacement SIM is also needed for the standard online CEIR blocking process. The official blocking form requires a reissued SIM for the lost number and working SMS reception for OTP verification. Ask the operator when the replacement can receive verification messages; do not guess or repeatedly restart the application.
File the correct police report
Report what actually happened and retain a copy and reference number. Online lost-article services are available in several jurisdictions: UP Police lists a Lost Article Report service, while Madhya Pradesh Police's service explicitly includes mobile phones. Start from the relevant police website and check its instructions.
Do not describe theft as accidental loss merely to use a convenient form. The Delhi Police lost-report FAQ excludes articles connected with a crime and explains that its lost-report service records information rather than starting an investigation. Contact police directly about theft and ask about FIR registration.
Include the phone model, the number or numbers used in it, available device identifiers and the circumstances of disappearance. Separate the last time you definitely had the phone from the time you noticed it missing. Review the report before submitting and keep the acknowledgement with your operator reference.
Prepare the CEIR handset-blocking request
Open the Sanchar Saathi CEIR service and choose the lost or stolen handset blocking option. The form asks for police complaint details, a complaint copy, identity proof and device information. Have the IMEI number or numbers ready; the purchase invoice is optional.
Look through your purchase records and packaging for device details before filling the form. Copy identifiers carefully and check them against the police report. If you cannot find an identifier, ask police or the official service for guidance. Do not invent a number or copy an identifier from a similar phone.
The CEIR user manual explains that submission produces a Request ID used for status checks and later unblocking. Save it somewhere other than the missing phone. Keep the submitted details and acknowledgement together so you can answer follow-up questions consistently.
Understand what handset blocking does
According to DoT's Sanchar Saathi explanation, handset blocking applies across Indian telecom operators' networks and supports police tracing. Treat this as the handset-network step. Continue with bank protection and the separate account-security actions below; do not use a blocking acknowledgement as your reason to stop.
Keep a short record of completed actions and anything still pending. For example, note that the SIM is blocked, the police report is saved and the handset request is submitted. Leave space for bank and account actions. This is a practical way to avoid confusing one confirmation with another.
Protect bank accounts, UPI apps and cards
Call your bank's official number and explain that the registered phone is lost or stolen. Ask it to block affected UPI access, mobile banking and cards as appropriate. Contact the UPI app's official support as well. Ask which services were disabled, whether existing sessions remain active and how to restore access safely.
List the financial services you used on that handset rather than assuming that a single call covers everything. Check statements from a trusted device. Preserve any unfamiliar transaction details and send a written report to the relevant bank. Keep banking complaint references separate from the police and handset-blocking references.
If money has moved, DoT directs victims to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in immediately. Use our first-hour online-fraud guide for the reporting sequence, and our UPI scam prevention guide for further checks.
Secure email and account access
From a trusted device, change your email and important account passwords and review recovery details. Google's lost-device guidance covers changing the Google password, reviewing saved passwords and removing the missing device's account access. Start with the account connected to the phone, then review other sensitive services.
For Google, review the device under Security and sign-in, then Your devices, and sign out its sessions using Google's device-access instructions. Consider remote location or locking first: Google lists account sign-in among the requirements for remote securing or erasing.
For Apple, review account information and change the password if you see changes you did not make. Do not remove the missing iPhone from Find My. Apple warns that removal disables Activation Lock. Securing account access must not become an instruction to release a stolen device from its theft protection.
Use remote location, locking or erasing carefully
Google Find Hub offers location, lost-device locking and erasing. Remote securing or erasing requires power, a connection and the listed account settings. A factory reset permanently deletes device data, may leave SD-card data untouched and removes the device from Find Hub. Read the confirmation before choosing it.
For iPhone, Apple recommends Find My or icloud.com/find to mark the device as lost. Remote erasing cannot be undone and waits until the device comes online if necessary. Keep the device in Find My afterwards. If Find My was not enabled beforehand, its remote locking and erasing options are unavailable.
If a location appears, share the information with police rather than confronting someone yourself. Before erasing, consider whether you have preserved the incident evidence available elsewhere. Do not let a stranger claiming to have found the phone guide you through account settings or request your password.
Check connections in your name and unblock after recovery
Sanchar Saathi's Know Mobile Connections in Your Name feature is associated with TAFCOP. The official launch explanation describes checking connections and reporting those not taken by you or no longer required. Review the list once you have regained secure access to your number.
When the handset is recovered, inform police and follow their instructions. The CEIR manual explains the unblocking option: provide the Request ID, OTP number and reason, complete verification and check status. Ask each bank and operator separately about restoring services you requested them to block.
Quick checklist
- I contacted each operator about blocking and replacing the SIM.
- I reported the circumstances accurately to police.
- I prepared device details and saved the CEIR Request ID.
- I contacted banks and UPI support about affected access.
- I reviewed passwords, sessions and remote-device options.
- I kept theft protection in place and recorded pending actions.
Sources
Official government and device-provider sources checked on 30 October 2026.
- UP Police: lost-phone precautions; citizen services.
- MP Police: lost articles; Delhi Police: lost-report limits.
- CEIR services; blocking requirements; user manual.
- DoT: handset blocking and fraud reporting.
- DoT: TAFCOP.
- Google: account protection; device sessions; Find Hub.
- Apple: lost devices, erasing and Activation Lock.
