It’s called an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) – and every smartphone has one.

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Phone thefts are on the rise, and they can put both your personal date and financial accounts at risk.

Many of the phones stolen in the UK end up in overseas markets, which makes for a privacy nightmare, an investigation by The Sunday Times recently revealed.

With an IMEI number, your network provider can block your phone which would stop any unauthorised activity.

While your provider should be able to block your SIM from being used, it cannot block the actual handset without the IMEI number.

Mobile network operators and the police can also use the IMEI number to track and locate your stolen device.

You may also want to give this number to your mobile insurance provider in order to make a claim.

PRO TIP:

Apple and Google have location-tracking apps called Find My, which are designed to track your iPhone or Android – even when they’re switched off.

You should make sure that this feature is turned on.

It allows you to log into your phone account from another device to mark it as lost and wipe your device data.

FIND SECRET CODE

You can find your IMEI number by dialling a five-digit code into your phone app.

The code is: *#06#

However, you can also find it in your device Settings, or in the battery compartment if your phone has a removable battery.

iPhone owners can go to Settings, tap General and then IMEI/MEID.

If you have an iPhone 5, 5c and 5s, the IMEI will be printed on the back of the phone, at the bottom.

If you have an iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 or 4s, the IMEI will be printed on the sim tray.

Android owners can open Settings, tap About Phone, then click Status or Phone Identity where the IMEI number will be near the bottom.