A useful plan should answer three questions: what to show, who to contact, and what to do if a response is delayed. When travelling abroad, your mobile phone serves as your ticket, map, bank access and address book all in one. You should therefore check all your settings at home and back up any critical data using a secure offline method.
What to do before your trip
Update your apps, set up a screen lock, enable Find My Device, and keep your recovery codes separate from your phone. Check that the necessary functions work without Wi-Fi. Do not use public networks for high-risk operations if you can postpone them until you have a secure connection.
- SIM lock
- Find My Device
- Bank
- police
Step-by-step guide
Organise your supporting documents in chronological order and remove any unnecessary confidential information from the copies. In your letter, describe one specific problem and the desired outcome.
Check the time limits separately: the deadline for registration, boarding, a request or the validity of a document may be more important than the speed of the response.
Useful links
Read more about lost documents, emergency numbers and contact details without internet access. Current flight information is available on RedRay. For rules that may change, refer to the European Commission’s official section on cybersecurity and the official resources of your destination country. Sources verified on 6 September 2026.
Questions and Answers
SIM lock: what should you do?
First, try to locate your device via the official service and lock the screen remotely.
Device locator: how do you check?
Contact your mobile operator to block the SIM card, particularly if you’re receiving bank verification codes on that number.
Bank: when should you take action?
Notify your bank of the risk of unauthorised access and log out of any active sessions in critical applications.
Police: where to report it?
To report the incident to the police, have the model, IMEI, and the approximate location and time of the loss to hand.