Your iPhone was stolen or lost

0 Before you start: breathe, and use another device

Use a computer, a tablet or a trusted person’s phone. Keep pen and paper handy and note every call in the call log at the end.

• Your Apple Account email or phone number (formerly “Apple ID”).
• Your phone number and operator (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, etc.).
• Your DNI, NIE or passport.The police station and the operator’s shop will ask for it.
• A list of your banks and cards, and apps such as PayPal or crypto apps.
• The IMEI and serial number.They’re on the box (barcode), on the receipt, or at account.apple.com → Devices → your iPhone. Also under Settings → [your name] on another Apple device signed in to your account.
• If you had AppleCare+ or home/operator insurance, have the policy at hand.

1 First hour: lock everything

Apple

• Find My and Lost Mode.Go to icloud.com/find → All Devices → your iPhone → Mark as Lost. The iPhone is locked with its passcode and your Apple Pay cards and passes are suspended. If you only lost it, you can add a contact number; if it was stolen, Apple recommends not doing so. You can also do this from the Find My app on another Apple device, or on a Family Sharing member’s device.
• If it shows up on the map somewhere unfamiliar, don’t go and get it yourself.Tell the police. If someone tried to change your password from the iPhone, it may not show on the map for a while; you can still mark it as lost.
• Review your Apple Account.On another trusted device: Settings → [your name] → Sign-In & Security. Check the email, phone numbers and recovery methods, and remove anything you don’t recognise. In your account’s device list, remove any device you don’t recognise.
• Change your Apple Account password if anything looks wrong (or if Find My was off).On another trusted device: Settings → [your name] → Sign-In & Security → Change Password. Without one, at account.apple.com; if you can’t sign in, use Apple’s account recovery (iforgot.apple.com).

If Stolen Device Protection was on, some security changes can’t be made at account.apple.com, and a new device may make you wait. Make them from another trusted device. Stolen Device Protection doesn’t replace Lost Mode: mark the iPhone as lost anyway.

If Find My was off, the iPhone won’t appear at icloud.com/find and you can’t lock or erase it remotely. Change your Apple Account password now and carry on with the rest of the list.

Apple Pay is suspended automatically when you mark the iPhone as lost. Still ask your bank to block the cards (step 2).

Mobile operator

• Block the line and the SIMthrough the operator’s app, website, official phone line or a shop.
• Ask for the IMEI to be blocked.This stops the iPhone working with any SIM on Spanish networks. Operators usually ask for a copy of the police report, the IMEI and your ID. Do it once you no longer expect to get the phone back, because unblocking it later takes time.
• Get a replacement SIM only in person, in a shop, with your ID.Ask what they do to stop anyone else getting a duplicate SIM or porting your number, and ask to be alerted if someone tries.

Decide when to erase the iPhone

• Erasing the iPhone (at icloud.com/find or in the Find My app) deletes your data and can’t be undone.Do it once you no longer expect to recover it. If it’s off, it will be erased the next time it connects. On iOS 15 or later you can still locate it after erasing.
• Never remove it from Find My, even after erasing it.That removes Activation Lock and makes it easier to resell. You can remove it from your account’s device list without removing it from Find My, but if you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, don’t remove it from Find My or your account until the claim is approved.

2 Banks and money

Call every bank and card issuer. Use only the number on the back of the card, the official website or the bank’s app, never a number sent to you by text or email.

What to say to the bank

1. “My phone has been stolen. It had the bank app and my cards in Apple Pay. Approximate date and time: …”
2. “I want to block all my cards (including in Apple Pay) and order new ones.”
3. “Please block or switch off Bizum and online-banking access from that phone.”
4. “Please flag my account for possible fraud. Are there any recent payments or Bizums I don’t recognise?”
5. “I want to change my online-banking password and check the phone number where I get codes.”
6. “Please turn on alerts for every payment. Can I have a reference number for this call?”

• Bizumis tied to your bank and your phone number. Ask the bank to switch it off until you have your replacement SIM.
• PayPal and other payment apps:change the password, sign out of all devices and check the payments.
• Crypto or investment apps:change the password, revoke the stolen phone and contact their official support.
• Charges you didn’t make? Tell your bank immediately.The legal maximum is 13 months, but don’t wait. According to the Banco de España, once you’ve reported it you’re not liable for later payments you didn’t make; for earlier ones, at most €50, unless there was fraud or gross negligence.
• Formal complaint:first in writing to the bank’s customer service department (for payments and cards it must reply within 15 business days). If it doesn’t reply or you disagree, complain to the Banco de España at clientebancario.bde.es. Attach the police report.

3 Passwords and accounts

• Your email first (Gmail, Outlook…).Email is how almost every other account gets recovered. Change the password and, in the security settings, sign out of other devices.
• Password manager (if you use one):change the master password and remove the iPhone from its devices.
• Social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok…):change passwords and end open sessions.
• WhatsApp:with your replacement SIM, install WhatsApp on the new phone and register your number; that signs the stolen phone out. Check “Linked devices” and turn on two-step verification.
• Authenticator apps and backup codes:if you used a code app on the iPhone, sign in to each account with your backup codes and set it up again on the new phone.
• FNMT digital certificate, if it was on the iPhone:if you know the application code, revoke it by phone (24 h): 917 406 848 / 913 878 337. Otherwise, if the certificate isn’t on another device, go to an Oficina de Acreditación in person. If it’s still on another device, you can revoke it online. Info: www.sede.fnmt.gob.es → Anular.
• Cl@ve:if the Cl@ve app was on the iPhone, deactivate that device at clave.gob.es or on the Agencia Tributaria website.

4 Police report and insurance

• Policía Nacional:at a police station (24 h) or online through the Oficina Virtual de Denuncias (denuncias.policia.es/OVD). An online report must be signed at a station within 72 hours with your ID and the reference number, or it isn’t valid. Online reports only cover theft without violence or intimidation, by an unknown person and with no witnesses.
• Guardia Civil:at a post, or online at guardiacivil.sede.gob.es with Cl@ve or a digital certificate; online reports don’t need to be confirmed in person. Online reports aren’t accepted if there was violence, you know who did it, or there were witnesses: in that case, go in person or call 062.
• Catalonia (Mossos d’Esquadra):online reports are for businesses only. Go to a police station (you can book at mossos.gencat.cat).
• Basque Country (Ertzaintza):in person, or online with a digital certificate (euskadi.eus/denuncia_policial/web01-tramite/es) for thefts without violence or intimidation. It’s only valid once you receive the receipt with a reference.
• In the report, includethe IMEI, serial number, model, stolen cards and documents, and any odd charges. Ask for a copy and keep it.
• Was your DNI stolen too?Include it in the report and book a replacement at citapreviadnie.es (“Pérdida o sustracción” link) or by calling 060. Bring proof of the report.
• Insurance:file the claim with the police report attached. With AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, Find My must stay on during the claim (support.apple.com/iphone/theft-loss-claims). Also check your home insurance and your operator’s insurance.

Claim number:

5 Protect yourself from identity theft

Spain has no equivalent of a US “credit freeze”. What you can do is watch for loans or debts opened in your name, and act fast if it happens.

• Banco de España CIRBE report (free):shows the loans, credit and guarantees reported in your name. Request it at sedeelectronica.bde.es with a digital certificate or advanced Cl@ve (“Cl@ve avanzada”), or in person or by post. Repeat it in 1–3 months: banks report monthly.
• Debt registers:use your GDPR right of access (free) to check whether you’re listed for debts that aren’t yours: ASNEF-Equifax (soluciones.equifax.es/consumidores) and Badexcug-Experian (portaldelconsumidor.experian.es).
• INCIBE “Tu Ayuda en Ciberseguridad”:free and confidential, 8:00–23:00 every day. Phone 017, WhatsApp 900 116 117 (save it in your contacts first) or Telegram @INCIBE017.
• AEPD (Spanish data protection authority):if your personal data is used without permission (e.g. contracts or accounts in your name), you can complain at sedeaepd.gob.es. If you want to see your data or have it deleted, ask the company first; if it doesn’t reply within a month or doesn’t fix it, complain to the AEPD.
• If a loan, phone line or debt appears that isn’t yours:add it to your police report, complain to that company in writing and tell your bank.

6 Get your data back

• Restore from iCloud backup on the new or replacement iPhone:follow setup until “Transfer Your Apps & Data” → From iCloud Backup, sign in and pick the latest backup (check date and size). Keep it on Wi-Fi and power. If you’ve already set it up, it has to be erased first.
• Check icloud.comfor your photos, contacts, notes and iCloud Drive files, if you synced them.
• Computer backup:on a Mac, use the Finder; on Windows, the Apple Devices app (or iTunes on older PCs). Connect the new iPhone → Restore Backup. If the backup is encrypted, you’ll need its password.
• Other backups:Google Photos, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive… and your WhatsApp chat backup in iCloud (it offers to restore when you register your number).

If you had Advanced Data Protection on: Apple can’t recover your data for you. You’ll need another device’s passcode, your recovery contact or your recovery key. Web access to your data at icloud.com is off by default; you approve it from a trusted device.

No backup? Anything that was only on the iPhone can’t be recovered. Ask family and friends for recent photos, check your emails and chats, and turn on backup on the new phone: Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup → “Back Up This iPhone”.

7 The next 30–90 days

• Check the transactions on all your accounts and cards every week.
• Request the CIRBE report again and recheck the debt registers after 1–3 months.
• Watch out for fake “Apple” messages.“We found your iPhone”, “sign in to see its location”… Apple will never contact you to say it has found your device. Thieves send these to get your password and remove the lock.
• Never give your iPhone passcode, Apple Account password or verification codes to anyone:not by phone, not by text, and not to someone who says they’re from the bank, the police or Apple.
• On the new iPhone, check Stolen Device Protection.Settings → Face ID (or Touch ID) & Passcode → Stolen Device Protection. It may already be on; if not, turn it on (it needs iOS 17.3 or later and Find My). For extra protection, set “Require Security Delay” to “Always”.
• Check that Find My and iCloud Backup are on.

✎ Call log

Note every step. The reference number is your proof if you need to complain later.

Date	Organisation	Person	Reference no.	Notes

Official sources checked

• Apple: support.apple.com/120837 (if your iPhone is stolen) · 101593 (Find My and Lost Mode) · 120340 (Stolen Device Protection) · 101567 (change password) · 108037 (serial number and IMEI) · 118219 (Apple Pay) · 108756 (Advanced Data Protection) · iphone/theft-loss-claims (AppleCare+). Checked in both the Spanish (es-es) and US English (en-us) editions.
• Policía Nacional: denuncias.policia.es/OVD · Guardia Civil: guardiacivil.sede.gob.es and web.guardiacivil.es (online reports) · Mossos d’Esquadra: mossos.gencat.cat · Ertzaintza: euskadi.eus/denuncia_policial/web01-tramite/es · DNI: citapreviadnie.es
• Banco de España: clientebancario.bde.es (fraudulent card use; complaints) and sedeelectronica.bde.es (CIRBE) · INCIBE: incibe.es/linea-de-ayuda-en-ciberseguridad · AEPD: sedeaepd.gob.es · ASNEF-Equifax: soluciones.equifax.es/consumidores · Experian: portaldelconsumidor.experian.es · FNMT: www.sede.fnmt.gob.es · Operators: ayuda.orange.es, ayudacliente.vodafone.es, yoigo.com (SIM and IMEI blocking) · WhatsApp: faq.whatsapp.com

General guidance, not legal or financial advice. Steps and menus can change; if in doubt, follow what Apple, your bank or the police tell you. Menu names follow Apple’s English (US) support pages. Reviewed 24 October 2026.