Lost my mobile phone, what are my chances of getting it back?

[Silence Sky]

Hi Genie:

No, have not make a police report, but I've cancelled my line and got a new sim card.

I think we stay very near to each other.

 

[raincool2005]

Hi guys,

just went for dinner with my hubby and we took the car for a wash at the Esso station along West Coast Road. While waiting, I popped into the minimart to buy bread and then must have dropped my mobile phone while paying for my purchases. I didn't realised it until we drove off. My hubby tried to dial my number, a Malay girl picked up and then hung up immediately. Subsequently, the phone was switched off and channelled to voicemail. :cry: We went back to the station but the cashiers claimed they did not see/find anything...

My mobile phone is Nokia 7390 and I barely used it for 3 months...very heartpain and disappointed with myself for being so careless...Do you think I'll ever get it back? Can I expect some good samaritans to display some honesty and return me my phone? All my contacts my inside and I've no means to retrieve them ever again...:cry: Moreover, I'm pregnant and my doc's mobile number is also stored inside and it won't be another 3 weeks before I see him again...Sigh.

So sad...

the only chance u can get it back is when someone decided to be honest and returns to u. Otherwise, u can forget it and buy a new one. In situations like that, first thing is to cancel the line asap. Next, make a police report, go find the IMEI sticker in your Nokia package box and give it to police. IMEI number is the unique number for every phone in this world, by giving this to the police , this is to protect yourself should this phone is used for illegal and criminal usage

technically, it is possible to trace the location of the phone, however by current commerical reasons, it is just to complex and taxing to get it back for customers.

Blame no one... seriously ! just be extra careful next time... hang it around yr neck is the best.:sweat: This is a technology world we depend on now... :sweat:

 

[sORe-EyEz]

hope u got all ur contacts in some back-up. :sweat:

 

[Rashkae]

Make sure you ask starhub, Singtel and M1 to block the IMEI. They have this capability.

You're lucky it's not in the philippines... Over there, they'd take about 5 minutes to change the IMEI too!

 

[night86mare]

They pick up and then hang up and switch off?

Oh no, you bet it'd be at some Blazing shop by now already.. =(

 

[gomobile]

0

I lost 3 HPs no one is honest enuf to return.

 

[cityofangels]

CityofAngels - any idea how to backup our mobile phone contacts onto our computer?

If I am not mistaken, there are programs which you can download and you connect your phone via bluetooth to back-up all your contacts. There are also small little devices which you can buy from Sim Lim or any electronics store which is plugged into your mobile phone and you can back-up all your contacts on the device.

These are some examples of the SIM back-up device.

Example 1

Example 2

Depending on your mobile operator, they may even provide back-up services. I.e. bring your mobile phone to the shop and they'll back-up your contacts. However, I am not sure how they store the contacts (e.g. floppy or CDR?). :dunno:

 

[edfck]

my wife lost her hp once at a coffee shop and a kind n honest mee pork hawker kept it for her till she return. but tats prob 1 in a 100. lucky her,n me too. if not i gotta buy her a new phone..:sweatsm:

 

[satay16]

Let's pray:

Dear lord, I hope my handphone battery will explode.

Amen.

 

[yanyewkay]

Hi guys,

just went for dinner with my hubby and we took the car for a wash at the Esso station along West Coast Road. While waiting, I popped into the minimart to buy bread and then must have dropped my mobile phone while paying for my purchases. I didn't realised it until we drove off. My hubby tried to dial my number, a Malay girl picked up and then hung up immediately. Subsequently, the phone was switched off and channelled to voicemail. :cry: We went back to the station but the cashiers claimed they did not see/find anything...

My mobile phone is Nokia 7390 and I barely used it for 3 months...very heartpain and disappointed with myself for being so careless...Do you think I'll ever get it back? Can I expect some good samaritans to display some honesty and return me my phone? All my contacts my inside and I've no means to retrieve them ever again...:cry: Moreover, I'm pregnant and my doc's mobile number is also stored inside and it won't be another 3 weeks before I see him again...Sigh.

So sad...

chances are slightly better than winning Group 1 of TOTO..

 

[+evenstar]

service providers can track down the phone via IMEI? i dun think that's possible AFAIK...the last time i lost my phone, i asked them about this and they said they could only keep a record of my IMEI number just in case the "thief" sent the phone for repair.

 

[dEthANGeL]

service providers can track down the phone via IMEI? i dun think that's possible AFAIK...the last time i lost my phone, i asked them about this and they said they could only keep a record of my IMEI number just in case the "thief" sent the phone for repair.

They do... i'm not allowed to disclose how though.

 

[centuryegg]

My dear.. all your posts are about hoping some kind soul will return the phone to you. Dont be to be harsh or brutally honest but you can forget about that happening to you. If the person wanted to return you the phone, he or she would have either

1) Waited for you to call the phone and then arrange with you to collect the phone
or
2) Dialled the last dialled number in your list and ask if the person knows you and how to contact you.

You already said the person picked the phone up and switched it off. Most likely she the Malay girl took it. When your phone went to voicemail. You know why? Cos the sim card has been thrown away and they have happily put in a new sim card. And most likely she is rejoicing with her abang (hubby) about this new phone she found.

The telcos wont give a hoot and neither the police.... Asking the petrol kiosk to release the footage? Wait long long.... unless the person is a staff at the kiosk if not even if say they do let u see it, u want to do a man hunt for the person who told your phone?

There is a new company that offers a program that works on some phones. It traces the phone and then sends an sms to the new "owner" that the phone is stolen and please kindly return it. That is enough to scare people into returning it. If not.... 99 percent of Singaporeans take it as "finders keepers"

 

[matthew]

service providers can track down the phone via IMEI? i dun think that's possible AFAIK...the last time i lost my phone, i asked them about this and they said they could only keep a record of my IMEI number just in case the "thief" sent the phone for repair.

The carriers can track by IMEI, they just don't. Would scare off too many people . If the phone in 'in view' of more than 2 transmitter sites, it's technically possible to do an exact location fix.

In Australia, the government forced the Aus carriers to co-operate on a IMEI blacklist registry. If a phone's IMEI is reported stolen, it's blacklisted at all 3 carriers and won't work on any Australian network anymore.
The carriers fought the IMEI blacklist, citing various technical issues and took years to implement it, after all, use of a stolen handset isn't any financial risk to them, as the account is bound to the SIM which of course they readily cancel and re-issue to their customers.

Of course, go to any 'dodgy' mobile phone repairer and they probably have the software to change the IMEI on most models of mobile phone.

 

[deckard]

don't be so sad, treat it like you have lost a good phone and given it to some malay girl who really needs a phone. the poor malay girl may be working very hard to earn some money to afford a handphone. she will be so happy, maybe she will send you the contacts in the phone. did you put your address in the phone? sometimes some kind souls will give back the contacts in a CD and put it in your mailbox. treat it like you done a good deed. :thumbsup:

 

[Big Kahuna]

Maybe you can beg the store manager to review the CCTV? You might able to find the dishonest SOTB :sweat:

 

[vince123123]

This is once again another situation of the police doing taichi power. Snatching it away from you is a crime. However, picking up something with the ability to trace its owner, and not returning it, is a crime too - both are different crimes. The present one is called criminal misappropriation.

To support what I say, here's Section 403 of the Penal Code:

403. Whoever dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use movable property, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation 2.​

A person who finds property not in the possession of any other person, and takes such property for the purpose of protecting it for, or of restoring it to the owner, does not take or misappropriate it dishonestly, and is not guilty of an offence; but he is guilty of the offence above defined, if he appropriates it to his own use, when he knows or has the means of discovering the owner, or before he has used reasonable means to discover and give notice to the owner, and has kept the property a reasonable time to enable the owner to claim it.


What are reasonable means, or what is a reasonable time in such a case, is a question of fact.


It is not necessary that the finder should know who is the owner of the property, or that any particular person is the owner of it; it is sufficient if, at the time of appropriating it, he does not believe it to be his own property, or in good faith believe that the real owner cannot be found.

Illustrations

(b) A finds a letter on the high road, containing a bank note. From the direction and contents of the letter he learns to whom the note belongs. He appropriates the note. He is guilty of an offence under this section.

(c) A finds a cheque payable to bearer. He can form no conjecture as to the person who has lost the cheque. But the name of the person who has drawn the cheque appears. A knows that this person can direct him to the person in whose favour the cheque was drawn. A appropriates the cheque without attempting to discover the owner. He is guilty of an offence under this section.

There we go, now you can go to Clementi Police Station to amend your report to that of reporting a crime, criminal misappropriation. If you're sure that you dropped it in the Petrol Station and that someone there took it. Also, state the fact that you tried to call and the person pick up and put down -that shows the person is not making reasonable attempts to discover the owner and return it - again another element of criminal misappropriation.

Hi all

my hubby just came back from lodging a police report at the Clementi Police Station. Apparantly, when we told them about the CCTV footage, they say they are not authorised to view it unless it is a crime AKA the phone was snatched away from me. Never mind, I'll try calling the petrol station tomorrow to check with the station manager if they are kind enough to let me view the footage in private. Somehow, I was so gullible to even pray earnestly to God that some kind souls will return the phone to me cos if it was me who picked up someone's phone or wallet, I'll definitely return it to its rightful owner (and I've done that before!) but I guess, our moral standards are far from being '1st world'...

Silence sky, have you made the police report yet? Where did you lose yours?

CityofAngels - any idea how to backup our mobile phone contacts onto our computer?

John - thanks for the website. Will go register my IMEI after this post...

Sigh...wish I wasn't so careless, drop until I don't know...:cry:

 

[+evenstar]

They do... i'm not allowed to disclose how though.

oh ok..i learn sth new everyday...

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

if ppl meet me then they lucky, consider yourself not...

most of the time, i see lost & found, i will call the person up, and return it to them, most of the inconvenience to me... and no rewards normally... but seeing their happy face is just enuff for me...

 

[Astin]

I guess its your luck or no luck.
I had picked up handphones from cafe seat and patrol kiosk, and always needed to run behind these careless owners and returned him/her, usually they would give me a smile and I felt good end of the day.