Momma's morning story of glory.

[Joyius]

So, my mother almost had her phone stolen this morning. We had put a passcode and a tracking app on her phone after her last one got stolen when she had left it on the back bumper of the truck and forgot about it a few months back, so this came in handy this morning. The story goes like so;

She went to the Shopette and was filling up some coffee for herself, set her phone down for a few minutes and walked away, bad move on her part for one, but when she came back it was gone, so she goes and gets the store manager, the store manager checked life 360 for my mom, they're friends(be here for 9 plus years and you learn everyone), and it was outside, so they walk out there, call my moms phone and to a truck that was parked at a gas pump where the phone was going off. The guy first tried to claim it was his phone. "Oh really now?" And the store manager called my moms phone again, and it goes off, he then tried to say it was his wifes phone, and my mom went "Really? Let me just try something real quick" snatched the phone from the guy before he could say anything, put in her passcode and goes. "Oh, nice picture of MY HUSBAND ON YOUR WIFES PHONE", needless to say MP's were called. And so ends our tale. I did point out to her had she woken me up and taken me with her this morning like she said she would, this never would of happened.

[An Haddock]

Assholes... I had left my phone on top of my car outside a grocery store a couple of weeks ago by accident... but I didn't have the Google phone GPS thing activated and some douche must have picked it up and made off with it. Fortunately the insurance to get it replaced wasn't too bad, but I was pissed that I hadn't thought to turn on the lost phone feature so I could track down the coward who took it.

I know there was someone a town over a couple of months ago who had their phone stolen but were able to track their phone and found the person who had taken it. It was in our police blotter.

[morgana]

I had a similar fun little incident a while back.

I had been out to breakfast with friends, and discovered on the way home that my phone was missing. Fortunately, I was traveling with my best friend, and we had only been to the restaurant, nowhere else.

We turned around and headed back to the place, and she started calling my phone. Nobody answered. So she kept calling it.

I got back to the IHOP and went inside and described my phone to the manager, telling her I was quite sure I'd left it there. Well, nobody'd turned it in, but lo and behold there was a phone ringing in the kitchen. And it was my ringtone . . .

Manager excused herself and headed into the back. There was some non-English-speaking argument, then she came back scowling, carrying my phone.

I didn't ask, and she didn't tell; I just thanked her profusely and left. But I wouldn't be surprised if someone lost their job that day.

[ComputerNecromancer]

First a bit of history. A friend is blind and she and her husband got an upgrade deal that'd get them a pair of phone X at a really good price. She couldn't use that model, but even with buying the phone she needed it was still a good deal. So they dragged me along and I got the "second" phone as my first cell.

Fast forward a few years and her husband have me his when he upgraded. So did another friend.

So I had *three* of the same phone kicking around. One in use. And two "spares". When I upgraded, that became three spares.

Now yet another friend on the same carrier had her brother and his girlfriend (who were sharing a house with her) on a "family plan" deal.

They *both* managed to lose or have stolen their p[hones within a few days of each other. And early in the contract. It'd have cost way too much to terminate service for them. But she remembered my "spare" phones.

I read her the numbers from inside the battery compartments of the phones. She called the cell company, reported the two phones as stolen and transferred the service to the two phones I'd given her the info for.

Within minutes the texts and voicemails started piling up. It'd been a couple of days and the thief had already given out the numbers to his friends. Who were now pissed off that he wasn't returning their calls/texts.

I'd check the texts and voicemails every once in a while and kept the phones charged. After a couple of weeks, they quit. And for the next nine(?) months, I'd power them up once in a while. At that point the contract ended and they went back to being spares for my phone.

So even if you can't "brick" the stolen phone, it's quite possible to switch the service to another phone, which is almost as good. And if it's reported stolen, the cell company isn't *supposed* to let someone else reactivate it (though from what I hear, that's frequently ignored).

[Dreamstalker]

And if it's reported stolen, the cell company isn't *supposed* to let someone else reactivate it.

If the thief is able to root/unlock the phone that may not matter...most may not try though because it can be bricked hard if you don't know what you're doing.

[LillFilly]

Someone where I work was just complaining that she had lost her phone, but when she called her carrier, somehow, whoever had taken it had already managed to fake their way around her security questions and password and put the account into their name. And of course, now she couldn't report a phone stolen that wasn't hers!

[Rock Lobster]

I did good. I found a cell phone in a restaurant rest room and turned it in to the employees. I hope they came back for their phone! I was afraid someone would steal it.

[Sliceanddice]

i once had my phone stolen from someone at work in the bathroom from my pocket

[blondescales]

I found an iphone in the ladies room of a fast food place just last month. Turned out it belonged to an employee. Their co-workers were having a good laugh about it when I left.