Can someone still access your iPhone if you have put it in lost mode and selected erase once it is back online?

Harry.J97 wrote:

Hi there had a iPhone X stolen last week so I put it into lost mode and set it to erase the data once it comes back online and connects to the internet. Can The phone still be used by the culprits after It has been erased or is it destroyed?

no because they will run into this Turn off Find My iPhone Activation Lock - Apple Support

The responses so far are all good advice. Here's some more:

• If you get a text or an email saying your phone has been found, ignore it. It's just a scam to get you to provide enough information to remove Activation Lock. Even (or especially) if the message appears to come from Apple. Apple doesn't get involved in lost/stolen phones in any way.
• DO NOT remove it from your account. That will disable Activation Lock.
• If you're sure you won't get it back, call your carrier and have the IMEI blacklisted.

It will not be destroyed, but will be unusable by them. Should you recover your device, you will be able to reactivate it for your use.