# Stolen original iPhone (no SIM card). Who should I tell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-original-iphone-no-sim-card-who-should-i-tell/590793 "2011-07-30T00:39:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-original-iphone-no-sim-card-who-should-i-tell/590793/1 "2011-07-30T00:39:49Z")
So, last night somebody stole my wife’s first-generation iPhone from our car (apparently one of the locks didn’t engage when I hit the remote). We’ve long since switched to Android phones, so we were just using it as an iPod that was plugged into the car stereo; hence, there was no SIM card in it. And of course there was no MobileMe registration or any other find-my-stolen-iPhone apps or service… Anyway, I do have the IMEI, the serial number, and basically all the pertinent info, and I remember a doper who worked for a cell phone company mentioning once that there’s a database of stolen IMEIs that prevents thieves from using stolen cell phones, even if they change the SIM card. So, who should I report this to? Will just reporting the theft to the police do the trick? I live in Southern Nevada if it makes a difference. (Fortunately, our local police don’t have much serious crime to deal with, so they have plenty of time to take stuff like this seriously. A few years ago they recovered a bunch of random stuff that got stolen from a whole bunch of storage units, and my wife and I got some of our storage junk back, although some of her dolls were never found.) Thanks for any suggestions, folks! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-original-iphone-no-sim-card-who-should-i-tell/590793/2 "2011-07-30T00:43:59Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > So, who should I report this to? Will just reporting the theft to the police do the trick? If by “do the trick” you mean “do absolutely nothing unless by some miracle it falls into the police’s lap by no effort of their own” then yes, they will keep the report on file and if someone turns it in they can compare the serial number to the one you reported and return it to you. But don’t get your hopes too high. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-original-iphone-no-sim-card-who-should-i-tell/590793/3 "2011-07-30T02:29:54Z")
Well, I meant “will they contact whoever needs to be contacted to put the phone on the ‘don’t let anybody use it to make calls’ list.” It seems unlikely to me, but you never know. I guess I could just call T-Mobile and AT&T, and if they have such lists, that would pretty much take care of it for the US … I think … ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-original-iphone-no-sim-card-who-should-i-tell/590793/4 "2011-07-30T17:53:01Z")
Neither company can do anything to help you. If the person in possession of your phone has an active AT&T SIM card they will be able to use your phone. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-original-iphone-no-sim-card-who-should-i-tell/590793/5 "2011-07-30T19:40:42Z")
Cell companies have the ability to block a given IMEI. I don’t know if any do so in the US, but you could call AT&T and report it. No harm done. Of course, if they jailbreak the phone and use it on a different carrier…I’m not sure if the blocked list would be shared. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-original-iphone-no-sim-card-who-should-i-tell/590793/6 "2011-07-30T21:17:12Z")
Nothing important to add here, but I’ll just mention real quick that the line – > [@chorpler](#): > > … although some of her dolls were never found… – _completely_ freaked me out for about half a second. :eek: