Should You Dial *#06# if You Lose Your Mobile Phone?

A set of instructions circulating online suggests dialing *#06# in the case of a lost or stolen mobile device. How accurate are these instructions?

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Online Claim

A graphic which has circulated for the past couple of years provides instructions about what to do if your mobile device is lost or stolen. These instructions include dialing *#06# to retrieve your IMEI number.

Let’s first take a look at what is being circulated.

If you lose your mobile:

1. Dial *#06# from your mobile
2. Your mobile shows a unique 15 digit
3. Note down this number anywhere, which will help trace your mobile in case of theft.
4. Once stolen you just have to mail this 15 digit IMEI number to [email protected].
5. You will find where your hand set is being operated even in case your number is being changed.

Share this message to all your friends and relatives.

The above message contains some elements of truth, but the instructions do not provide the suggested – or even accurate – response to a lost or stolen device.

Dialing *#06#

This does in fact display the 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number on most phones. This number identifies the device, regardless of the phone number associated with the phone or the subscriber using it. It has been used in recent years by phone carriers to reduce theft by maintaining blacklists of IMEI numbers for stolen devices.

[email protected]

Step #4 on the graphic claims that the  15 digit IMEI number should be sent to [email protected].

At one time in the past, [email protected] belonged to the Commissioner of Police for the Chennai City Police in India, and was used to track and recover stolen cellphones in that area. In fact, a 2006 article in the Hindu Times reports that 53 cellphones  had been retrieved and returned to their owner using the service.

When we first wrote this article in January of 2014, the [email protected] service had already discontinued. At that time, the domain vsnl.net was registered, but did not resolve to a working website. Now the website is working and appears to be devoted to lost or stolen cellphones, but it is no longer associated with the Chennai city police.

It appears that the [email protected] claim became popular and gradually spread out from where it was originally used in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (which includes the city of Chennai).

Lost or Stolen Devices

In 2012, the FCC announced that the four major US cell carriers agreed to use IMEI numbers to block stolen phones. Each of the carriers, however suggest contacting them to suspend your service and file a claim in the event your device is lost or stolen.

• AT&T
• Sprint
• Tmobile
• Verizon

In the UK, police in Essex also suggest contacting your carrier:

If your mobile phone is stolen you should call your service provider and quote the phone’s IMEI number. This is the International Mobile Equipment Identity number and can be used to isolate your mobile so no one can use it.

To find your IMEI number dial *#06# from your mobile phone.

Your IMEI number will appear as 14 to 17 digits on your mobile phone screen – this number is unique to your phone.

Bottom Line

While you can find your IMEI number by dialing *#06#, the instructions asking to send your information to [email protected] are incorrect. This address was once valid for some customers in India at one time, but the service has since been discontinued. All major cell carriers suggest you contact them directly in the case of a lost or stolen mobile device.

Updated January 26, 2015
Originally published January 2014