Guides / Helping when a family member's phone is stolen

A family member's phone was just stolen: how to help

Updated 4 November 2026 · By the FirstHour team

Short answerStay calm and keep them moving. Lend them your phone or computer so they can sign in at icloud.com/find themselves and mark their iPhone as lost. Then help them call their network and their bank, and change their passwords. Let them type their own passwords.

First, help them breathe

They may be upset or embarrassed. That's normal. Ask where they are and whether they're safe. If the theft just happened and the thief may still be near, keep away from the thief. Don't chase anyone. This is advice, not a rule from Apple.

Give them one job at a time and tick each one together.

Step 1: Mark the iPhone as lost

This is the most urgent step. Apple says to put a stolen device in Lost Mode as quickly as possible. It locks the device with its passcode and suspends Apple Pay cards.

  1. On your phone or computer, open the web browser.
  2. Go to icloud.com/find and have them sign in with the Apple Account they use on the stolen iPhone.
  3. If it asks for a code they can't receive, they choose Find Devices at the bottom of the window. Apple says you don't need a verification code to sign in, so the iPhone can be marked as lost even if their trusted device is the one that was stolen.
  4. They select their iPhone and choose Mark As Lost.
  5. Leave the phone number and message blank. Apple says not to include contact information if the device was stolen, because a thief might use it in social engineering schemes.

More detail: mark an iPhone as lost without a code and use Find My from someone else's phone. If you and they are in the same Family Sharing group, Apple says family members can see a lost device in Find My on their own devices, so you can also check your own Find My app.

It only works if Find My was on before the theft. If their iPhone isn't listed, Apple says to change their Apple Account password right away. Keep going with the steps below.

Step 2: Call the network and the bank

Apple says to contact the wireless carrier to report the phone stolen and ask it to suspend the account. Calling their bank and e-wallets to block cards and app access is our advice, not Apple's. The calls are best made by them, because the companies will want to speak to the account holder. You can sit beside them and write down what is said.

Our country pages list who to call. Use numbers from the company's own website or app, not from a message or an advert. This is advice, not a rule from Apple.

Step 3: Change their passwords

  1. Their Apple Account password first. Apple says to change it right away if Find My wasn't on.
  2. Their email password next, because email can often reset other accounts. This order is our advice, not Apple's.
  3. Then banking and social media, starting with the ones they use most.

They may be asked for a code sent to the stolen phone's number. If the network has just blocked the SIM, that code won't arrive. See what to do if your iPhone is stolen and if a thief knows your iPhone passcode for those cases.

Look away while they type, or let them do it alone. Don't save their passwords on your phone. When you're done, sign them out and close the tab, or use a private window from the start. This is advice, not a rule from Apple.

What not to do

Then

Apple says to report it to local law enforcement. They may ask for the iPhone's serial number, which Apple says can be found without the phone. The IMEI can be too. Here is how to find it. After that, let them eat and rest. The rest can wait until tomorrow.

How FirstHour helps, and where it can't

If they use FirstHour, Plan B keeps a first-hour plan with who to call and their phone's details, such as model, IMEI and serial number. They can send it to someone they trust or print a wallet card. If they sent it to you, you have the list.

FirstHour can't lock their accounts or find the phone. Features for locking FirstHour and showing a last-reported location are only planned for later. It also can't confirm that you received the plan. It tells them what to do and who to call, and they still have to do it.

Questions

Should I sign in with my own Apple Account to look for their phone?

No. Their iPhone is tied to their Apple Account, not yours, so they should sign in with their own at icloud.com/find in your browser, and you shouldn't sign in with yours. If you're in their Family Sharing group, your Find My app may also list it.

They don't remember their Apple Account password. What now?

See how to check your password. If they can't get in, account recovery can take a while, so call the network and bank first.

Sources

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