What Are the Odds of Getting Back a Lost Cell Phone?
Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:25AM EDT
See Comments (32)
What cell phone user hasn't had a phone drop out of his pocket, get left on an airport security conveyor belt, or (in my case) driven off with the phone sitting on top of the car? Did you get your phone back? While my handset was never to be seen again, in most parts of the world, things tend to turn out better. Reader's Digest (of all places) put 32 cities to the test to see whether lost cell phones would be properly returned, leaving 30 phones in heavily trafficked public areas, then calling them from a distance or waiting for a random callback.
How'd humanity fare in getting those phones back? In 28 of those cities, at least half of the phones were returned, and in 20 of them, a full two-thirds were. The worldwide average: a 68 percent return rate. That's better than I would have expected.
Who did best? A small town in Slovenia, where 29 of 30 handsets were returned to their owner. At the bottom of the barrel: Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur residents managed to return only 13 of 30 phones.
Other top cities included Toronto, Seoul, and Stockholm. New York City, the only American location tested, tied for fifth, with 24 phones returned.
While I could pontificate and ponder as to the reasons why some cities are better than others at returning property to their owners, I think the data is fascinating on its own. Here's the full rundown of all 32 cities (PDF link), and don't miss the full story, linked below, for a little insight into both the helpful and sometimes not-so-helpful human mind.
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27 Posted by alelie_a on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse
there is another way to find the owner of the cellphone. few years ago i found a cellphone (i was in the Philippines)beside my parked car at the street, what i did was, i dialed one of the number on the list and told them i found the cellphone and to tell the owner of the cellphone to call his cellphone so he can get it back, and we met and gave him his cellphone and he was grateful that i did return it to him.
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28 Posted by marthaj900 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:09PM EDT Report Abuse
One time I went to this store, and I had accidently left my phone on this seat in the shoe department. I didn't realize I had left it behind until I had gotten to the checkout counter, and ran back to the shoe department, and this guy was picking my phone up and was about to stick it in his pocket without a care. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, but that's my phone." I was really lucky I hadn't walked out the store without it. I bet I never would have gotten it back. What do you do if your phone is lost, and no one ever calls your house, etc. to try and find you?
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29 Posted by veijosanchez on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:33PM EDT Report Abuse
ben my daughter berenice lost her iphone at garland high school in garland texas. she found it to be missing at the high school cafeteria during her lunch break. i called tel. # 972-494-8492 administration assistant principal in that high school but were negative result. there are survillance camaras in the cafeteria, but until today STILL MISSING. mu daughter reported it to a teacher. veijosanchez@yahoo.com
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30 Posted by veijosanchez on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:33PM EDT Report Abuse
ben posted on 8 march 2008 veijosanchez@yahoo.com why the cellular phone companies att, sprint pcs and others offer GPS service at customer charge and when you loose your phone they can not track it down, but you have to pay for the service ben
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31 Posted by unisus2112 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:28PM EDT Report Abuse
nyc i have found phones and tried to return them unless you can get into the contacts and either call last number or mom or dad in contact list its hard to figure out what to do except to wait for a call from the owner to arrange a pick up
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32 Posted by rodriguezemma99 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:48PM EDT Report Abuse
Everybody has had to lose at least 1 mobile devise through out there lives. I personally am notorious for losing things, and have found a service that has helped me a lot. I use trackitback and they have returned my items to me for free worldwide. They have an over 88% recovery rate and would recommend them anytime.
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26 Posted by cudlecub on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:32PM EDT Report Abuse
I have lost my phone twice. Once it wasn't returned and probably never found by anyone since I was on a wilderness hike. The other time it was found by a good samaritian that returned it to my cellular provider's local store. I was leaving on a trip cross country the next day and when the store manager was trying to contact me, they would get no answer on my home phone or my old phone that I had simply re-activated since I didn't have the time to visit the store to retrieve it before catching my flight. I highly reccommend people have a contact set up for In Case Of Emergency to help in an emergency situation. It could save your life or either help get your phone back if a honest person finds it and calls it.