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Stolen iphone is in Shengzhen China and I am getting a lot of spam/phishing attack

I lost my iPhone in LA in April this year. I reported iphone stolen to the LA police, and set my iPhone to remote erase the next time it's online. It has not been able to do any remote erase because it's offline. However, I was able to track it via Find My and now I have its exact location in China. I am not sure what I can do with this location information...


Since April, I have become the target of several phishing text messages with links and threatening messages (the most recent one attached below). And now I wonder if I should just change my phone number to a new number for good to avoid this phishing attack....


Do I need to worry about my personal info when iphone is in lost/stolen mode? What are other things that I can still do to protect my data/ info on my stolen iphone?







iPhone 13

Posted on Jul 30, 2022 1:49 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 30, 2022 2:04 PM

One last thing: Beware of a common phishing scam: You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity. Delete any such message without responding to it. Apple never gets involved in lost or stolen devices→Avoid phishing emails, fake ‘virus‘ alerts, phony support calls, and other scams

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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 30, 2022 2:04 PM in response to Glitchy_We

One last thing: Beware of a common phishing scam: You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity. Delete any such message without responding to it. Apple never gets involved in lost or stolen devices→Avoid phishing emails, fake ‘virus‘ alerts, phony support calls, and other scams

Jul 30, 2022 2:06 PM in response to Glitchy_We

Glitchy_We wrote:

Do I need to worry about my personal info when iphone is in lost/stolen mode? What are other things that I can still do to protect my data/ info on my stolen iphone?


Keep the iPhone on your Find My! As long as it stays in Lost Mode, it's useless to anyone. The scammers certainly aren't doing you a favor by offering to keep your personal information safe (which they don't have, and can't get). Even if the device is never connected to be wiped, it can't be erased, and it certainly can't have personal information extracted from it.


As for the texts, just ignore them (or hit 'Report Junk') to send to Apple. They can't do anything as long as you don't reply.


If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

Stolen iphone is in Shengzhen China and I am getting a lot of spam/phishing attack

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