What Best to Do with a Found Lost Phone?

BendBridge on 03/12/2023 - 21:31
Last edited 03/12/2023 - 21:37 by 1 other user

Found a Samsung phone the other day on the street. It was locked, so I handed it in to the nearest police station. I also posted a message on the local FB community page.

Now thinking back, I should probably look up its emergency list to see if there was any number to call. Apparently, the police station will keep it for 3 months, if the owner doesn't claim it then the police can destroy the phone if I don't want to claim it. I didn't actually know the finders keepers rule applies to modern devices.

What would you do if you were in my situation?

Mobile Samsung

Comments

  • coxjon on 03/12/2023 - 21:35
    +1

    “Hey siri (or whatever it is on android) call mum”

    • MS Paint on 03/12/2023 - 21:39

      "Hey Google…."

      • mbck on 03/12/2023 - 21:49

        It's a Samsung so…"Hi Bixby…"

        • holdenmg on 03/12/2023 - 21:50
          +2

          What would E.T. do?

        • HeWhoKnows on 04/12/2023 - 07:59
          -1

          "Your phone is locked"

      • Protractor on 03/12/2023 - 22:15

        Hey OzBargain

    • AustriaBargain on 03/12/2023 - 22:06
      -4

      If it's been updated to newest version you can just say "Siri" without the "hey".

  • cloudy on 03/12/2023 - 21:44
    +1

    Same thing happened with us, found it, went to the cop shop and took 15 mins to give it to them. They asked if we wanted to leave our details, we didnt, that was it.

    But yea, if we did leave it i think they ask if we want it?… i dunno, its a lcoked iphone anyway so whats the use…

    • donga100 on 03/12/2023 - 22:06

      Send it to China. They will break it down for parts or switch out the MB with one from a broken phone so it can be unlocked.

  • sumyungguy on 03/12/2023 - 22:24
    +3

    You reap what you sow; you've done a most honourable thing. Sad thing is… who would go to the police looking for a lost phone?

  • Transient on 03/12/2023 - 22:40
    +16

    I found an iphone in the back of a taxi a few years ago. It was on standby. I waited for a few hours and sure enough, the owner rang it. I answered, we arranged a place to meet the next morning in the CBD and I handed it back. They were grateful and insisted on buying me lunch.

    • MS Paint on 03/12/2023 - 23:02
      +5

      Lobster with truffle sauce?

      • Mugsy on 04/12/2023 - 09:32
        +1

        If it was an Ozbargainer, you would have had the option of Macca's app deals or KFC hacks.

      • Transient on 05/12/2023 - 20:37

        Actually it was a $10-20 takeaway in the CBD. I wasn't expecting a reward so wasn't complaining!

    • try2bhelpful on 03/12/2023 - 23:15
      +4

      We’ve found two phones. In the first case the person rang it and we arranged to meet her to hand it over. With the second the person had their meetings listed on their Lock Screen so I stayed behind in case they came back and the other half went to the pub she had listed on the screen and found her and gave it back to her.

  • altomic on 03/12/2023 - 22:57
    +5

    When ever i find phones (and if locked) i take the sim out and put it in a spare phone . Check to see if any saved numbers to the sim, and if so then message any that are labelled mum or dad. And then wait for any message to be received (either from Mum or dad or from other contact) . And then explain that i found the phone and ask them to tell the owner to contact their own phone to arrange pick-up

    • kerfuffle on 04/12/2023 - 07:51
      +1

      Good luck doing that with eSIMs

      • altomic on 06/12/2023 - 10:50
        -1

        also doesn't work with a landline :(

  • ihbh on 03/12/2023 - 23:18
    +5

    Many years ago my work phone fell out of my pocket on the train as I got off. When I got home I called it with my wife's phone. The person who found it had gotten off 2 stations after and drove to my station. Luckily I had time to grab a bottle of wine from my stash and shoved it in their car after they gave me the phone and I thanked them profusely. They had a bewildered look, but I insisted they take it.

    Even though it was a work phone, it would have been inconvenient to replace it and they went out of their way to return it.

    Decades ago I found a phone on the umpire's seat on a tennis court and just handed it over to the court hiring staff.

  • azngamer on 04/12/2023 - 01:57
    +2

    Well, I'm thinking from what I would do if I lose my phone.

    1) check find my phone, this should be activated on most google accounts. If I get a signal, it probably means that it's not stolen as someone would reformat. So best to keep it charged so it's contactable. If you don't want your home address exposed, leave the phone in the office but keep it charged.

    2) I would give it a call with someone's phone. While contact list has made us lazy with other people's phone numbers, you should remember yours for all the documents you need to fill up. Office hours 9-3pm on weekdays seems reasonable.

    3) make arrangement on the other end to get the phone back. I would probably give a finder fee and going through the trouble of meeting up with me.

    I would never consider looking for my phone at the police station. I didn't even know that was a thing

    • CodeXD on 04/12/2023 - 10:30
      +1

      I would never consider looking for my phone at the police station. I didn't even know that was a thing

      But when you call it, wouldn't someone from the police office answer and provide you with details of where to pick it up from? Either way it'll still work out if handed over to the police.

      • lainey13 on 04/12/2023 - 21:18
        +3

        Nah it would be left in a box for the battery to die along with the other random found items. Police too busy to babysit it on charge.

    • DustyAfternoon on 05/12/2023 - 09:37
      +1

      This is the way.

      Nowadays a full charge is all the owner needs to get it back.

  • mike6969 on 04/12/2023 - 07:24
    +4

    You did good son
    Stop over analyzing and move on

  • Takeohakuto on 04/12/2023 - 08:06
    +8

    In the past 4-5 times I have found a phone, I have hung onto it and waited for someone to try to call. Explain that I found it and arranged for a hand over. I have been given a 6 pack of beer one time, and a box of chocolates another, but I have never asked for anything and just glad it got back to the owner.

  • BigBirdy on 04/12/2023 - 08:28
    +2

    If I lost my phone, I'd probably call it from a friend's phone.
    When I found a phone, I waited a few hours, and received a call from the owner, and arranged to return it. I'm not sure that police would be very helpful, I imagine they'd just stick the phone in a cupboard and ignore it.

  • GordonD on 04/12/2023 - 10:12
    +2

    This is not specifically about mobile phones.

    I used to live in Sydney. Soon after I moved to Adelaide I found something on the side of the road. So I handed it in at the police station.

    No long thereafter I discovered that Adelaide has this delightful custom that if you don't need something any longer, like toys that still work but your kids have grown out of them, you just leave it on the side of the road or somewhere else appropriate for someone who can use it to take it. Like the toy tea seat another OzBargainer recently wanted to know whether they should let their kid take that they found in a playground.

    It is a great idea. A big country town-ish thing. But it'd work better if people left a note on it saying it wasn't lost, or stolen and dumped, and anyone was welcome to take it.

  • 2esc on 04/12/2023 - 10:22
    +2

    Son had his phone stolen we reported it to Police. Just one day later the Police rang us a person had found it in their front yard. The thieves once they realised they couldn't unlock it had dumped it.

    Always hand found goods into Police some people think listing it on Facebook or somewhere else is the way to go but a lot of people won't see those listings or dont use social media.

    If you want to list something fine just say you handed it in to the Police and location of that Police Station.

    • BendBridge on 04/12/2023 - 16:36

      That's exactly what I did. Handed the phone to a police station and listed the police station on community FB page.

  • saltypete on 04/12/2023 - 12:24

    Thi post has me wondering.
    I have my email address on my Lock Screen in case I lose my phone.
    This post has me wondering is this a good thing to do or is is dumb…?

  • Waltervp on 04/12/2023 - 17:17

    I found a phone near a college. Noone rang it for days, i called the school and the police and posted on facebook. Police was very useless incidentally as they only wanted me to drop it off. I called them to ask if anyone had lost a phone with that description but they wouldnt tell me anything. We are a small town really in Tasmania and i find the police are a waste of time in general, overworked and underfunded in a huge totally underutilised new building….

  • lute248 on 08/12/2023 - 22:45

    Just wondering where did you post on the FB community page? I recently lost a samsung phone yesterday and i'm trying to find different communities (facebook, reddit) to see if anyone has any info about it.

    Already lodged a lost report with the police

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