How to Block a Stolen Phone Cell C
Has your Cell C phone been stolen? Are you looking to block it to protect yourself and to prevent the thieves from using it on any other network? If yes, then you have come to the right place. Unfortunately, thousands of phones get stolen across South Africa every day. If you are one of the victims of those nefarious criminals, you may be looking to limit the damage by disabling your SIM and blocking the stolen phone. Below we show you how to report and block a stolen Cell C phone;
How to Report a Stolen Phone Cell C
To report and block a stolen phone on Cell, you need to do the following;
- To blacklist your stolen phone, Call the Cell C on 140 if you are calling from another Cell C number. If you are calling from another network, dial 084 140.
- Tell the agent that your phone has been stolen and you wish to have the SIM disabled and the phone blacklisted.
- You will have to have your phone number and IMEI. The IMEI can be found on the box in which you bought your phone. You can also get the IMEI for any phone by dialing *#06#. It’s wise to do this on all your mobile devices and to write down the IMEI. This data can come in handy in the event your phone is stolen.
- Get an ITC from the Cell C agent over the phone.
- Next, go to the nearest police station and lodge a report about your phone being stolen. They will need your ITC, ID and proof of residence to start investigations into the theft of your phone.
Does Blacklisting a Stolen Cell C Phone Work?
This one is up there in the air. The question is what do thieves in South Africa do with stolen phones? Do they use them or do they sell them along? Remember it’s now common knowledge that a stolen phone can be blacklisted so it cannot be used on any other network. So, why do thieves continue stealing phones?
Well, the sad news is that thieves have a way around this issue. There are people out there who specialize in sanitizing stolen phones. But how do they do that?
They do it by simply giving the phone another IMEI. Remember the IMEI is the one that’s used to blacklist a stolen Cell C phone. So, if someone is able to change that, it wont matter that you have reported to the police and have done all the things that we mention here.
Why block your SIM and phone?
So, why would anyone bother blocking their devices when they get stolen? Well, there are a couple of reasons why you need to learn how to block a stolen Cell C phone. For one thing, you don’t want to have thieves continue using your airtime and data. That’s particularly applicable if you are on contract. These thieves could rack up shocking bills calling their fellow tsotsis around the country.
Another reason for learning how to report a stolen Cell C phone is to stop people from getting access to your important data. Remember we now use our phones for a lot of sensitive things. Most people do banking via their phones. If thieves were to get access to your private personal data, they could very well steal all your money.
You also need to have a stolen Cell C device blacklisted simply to spite the thieves. At least that’s the reasoning. When you blacklist a stolen phone, it’s no longer supposed to be useful on any network in South Africa.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, as we have already noted. If you fall prey to clever thieves, they will simply change the IMEI on the stolen phone, rendering your efforts useless.
What if I recover the blacklisted phone?
That’s how to block a stolen Cell C phone. But there are instances where you may have reported a phone stolen, only to find the device after a little while. Perhaps you had misplaced it or maybe the thief found salvation and they voluntarily brought back your phone.
Whatever the reason for finding your phone, the question is; is it possible to reactivate a stolen Cell C phone? The good news is that yes, you can re-enable a blocked Cell C phone. Simply get in touch with Cell C customer care on 140 and they will tell you how to about doing it.
Need to do a Cell C SIM replacement? Follow the provided link to find out how to do it. Also check our article on how to RICA your Cell C SIM.