Every day countless people lose their phones to thieves or to misplacement. Unfortunately, since our phones have become a very intricate part of our lives, a stolen phone may mean incurring huge financial loses or worse getting wrongfully implicated in criminal activity.
Unlike in the past, phones nowadays are not stolen merely to be sold to unsuspecting customers. Instead, the culprits may also withdraw or transfer any money in your M-PESA account to themselves before disposing off the phone.
If that’s not enough, they may go as far as to take mobile loans on your behalf from services such as M-Shwari, KCB-MPESA or loan apps such as Branch and Tala which may leave you in debt or worse a negative listing in the CRB down the road.
And as for your long-standing loyalty to Safaricom, they may make good use of it by transferring or redeeming your accumulated Bonga Points.
The good news however is that all this doesn’t have to happen to you. To make sure of this you’ll need to act promptly in getting both your Safaricom line and phone blocked. Once the SIM card is blocked you can always replace it later with a new one having your old number.
Step 1: Block the Safaricom Line
To block your Safaricom SIM card from any use, you’ll need to contact the Safaricom customer care and report the matter. They’ll ask a few questions such as your ID number to confirm whether you’re the actual owner of the number.
You can reach the customer care by calling them for free on 100 (Prepay) or 200 (Postpay) on another Safaricom line. For chargeable lines, you may call them on +254 722 002100 (prepaid) or +254 722 002200 (postpay).
Alternatively, you can reach them through the following additional channels:
- Twitter at @Safaricom_Care or @SafaricomPLC
- Facebook Page
- Online Live Chat
Step 2: Report the Incident to the Police
After blocking your line, go to the nearest Police station and report the stolen or missing phone. You’ll get a Police Abstract after filing the report.
Step 3: Block the Phone
Blocking the phone will ensure no SIM card can be used on the phone including those from other mobile network operators.
To do this, you’ll need to know the IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity) of your missing phone. This number is usually retrieved by dialling *#06# on your phone or by checking underneath your phone battery compartment.
Since this is not possible, you’ll have to find your IMEI in one of the following ways:
1. Find IMEI on Phone Box
If you still have with you the box with which you purchased the phone in you’ll usually find the IMEI printed on its side or on a sticker.
2. Find Phone IMEI in Safaricom Selfcare Portal
- Go to Safaricom Selfcare Portal and login into your account. After logging in, select Product and Services from the menu then go to
Operations > Phone > Block Phone. - In the Block Phone page, you’ll find a list of IMEIs of all the phones that you’ve used your SIM card with recently. Note the respective IMEI of the missing phone.
After finding the IMEI, take it with you along with the Police Abstract to the nearest Safaricom shop and put the request to block phone.
How to Block a Phone through Safaricom Selfcare Portal
You can also put a request to block the phone via the Selfcare Portal if you cannot access a Safaricom shop near you. To do this:
- Go to the Selfcare Portal and log into your account.
- In the menu select Product and Services then navigate to
Operations > Phone > Block Phone. - In the Block Phone page, select the IMEI of the missing phone and the reason for blocking it.
- Next download and print the block phone template word document from the link available on the page.
- Fill the document then scan and save it with the name Bar Form.
- Next scan your National ID and the Police Abstract and save it with the name Police Abstract.
- Attach the three documents followed by a phone number to be contacted on. Once you’re done click the Block Phone button to complete the request.
Step 4: Tracking the Phone
Safaricom will not track a stolen or missing phone for you. To do that you’ll have to report the case to the CID for tracking.
