Lost phone, bank card or travel documents in Korea

The short answerCall 112 if the item was stolen, someone threatens you or tracking shows an unsafe location. From a trusted device, mark the phone as lost, contact the mobile provider to suspend the SIM, freeze or cancel missing cards and secure the email account used for password resets. Report the loss to police or LOST112, then contact your embassy for a passport and 1345 for Korean immigration records when applicable.

What matters

A lost phone can expose payment apps, email, saved passwords and one-time security codes even when the physical card is still with you.
Apple and Google provide official tools to locate and lock a prepared device; remote erasure has consequences and should be chosen deliberately.
The card issuer—not a Korean merchant, hotel or police officer—controls the freeze, cancellation, replacement, disputed transactions and emergency-cash process.
Korean National Police LOST112 publishes lost-item searches and reporting guidance; a foreign visitor without a Korean resident registration number may need to visit a police station or police box.
A lost passport requires the traveler's own embassy or consulate, while Korean entry, stay or residence-record questions belong to Immigration Contact Center 1345.

First 15 minutes: separate loss from immediate danger

Retrace only a safe, recent route and call the last taxi, railway, airport, restaurant or accommodation using a phone you trust. If the item was taken, a person is demanding money, or a device location points to a private or unsafe place, do not confront anyone or follow the signal alone—call 112 and preserve the location screenshot.

Write down what is missing before accounts blur together: phone and SIM, physical cards, passport or residence card, keys and cash. Use a companion's device, hotel computer only with private browsing and careful sign-out, or another trusted device. Do not enter credentials through a link sent by an alleged finder.

Immediate danger or suspected theft: 112.
Likely lost item: contact the venue or operator and check LOST112.
Record the last known time and place before changing accounts.

Lock the phone before chasing the map pin

For an iPhone or iPad, use Apple's Find My or iCloud Find Devices to mark it as lost. For a prepared Android device, use Google's Find Hub to locate it, play a sound or mark it as lost. Put a safe alternate contact method on the lock screen only when the device appears genuinely misplaced; if it was stolen, avoid contact details that could help a thief target you with phishing.

A location marker is approximate and is not permission to enter a building or recover a device yourself. Save screenshots and give them to police. If the phone is unlikely to return and sensitive data remains at risk, consider remote erase after reading the platform's consequences. Google states that location is no longer available in Find Hub after erase; Apple advises keeping a stolen device in Find My so Activation Lock remains in place.

Never share the screen passcode, account password or verification code with a finder or 'support' caller.
Do not remove a stolen Apple device from Find My merely because a message tells you to.
Keep the serial number or IMEI for the carrier, police and insurance claim.

Suspend the phone number and protect the account-recovery chain

Contact the provider for the missing home SIM and any Korean SIM or eSIM. Ask it to suspend service, prevent unauthorized replacement or transfer and explain how to restore the number on a new device. A data-only travel eSIM and a voice/SMS number have different risks, so identify every active line rather than assuming the physical SIM was the only one.

Secure the primary email account and Apple or Google account from a trusted device, review signed-in devices and recovery methods, and remove unfamiliar sessions. Then protect banking, password manager, messaging and social accounts that could be reset by email or SMS. Preserve at least one working recovery method before changing everything, because losing the phone can also remove your second authentication factor.

Use saved backup codes, another trusted device or a registered security key when available.
Change a password immediately if the thief may know the passcode or account password.
Do not publish the IMEI, passport number or recovery codes in a lost-item post.

Freeze or cancel cards through each issuer

Open the official banking app from another trusted device or call the issuer using a number from its official website, a prior statement or card-network support page. A temporary freeze may suit a card probably left in a hotel room; suspected theft, unknown transactions or loss with identity documents usually needs immediate issuer guidance and may require cancellation.

Review pending and completed transactions, report anything unauthorized and ask about a replacement card, digital card or emergency cash only if your product is eligible. Visa and Mastercard publish global lost-card assistance, but the issuing bank approves account-specific action. Do not give a full card number, PIN or one-time code to a merchant, finder or unsolicited caller.

Handle every missing debit, credit, prepaid and transit-linked payment method separately.
Suspend cards stored in the missing phone even when the plastic remains with you.
Keep case numbers and written confirmation of disputed transactions.

Create a Korean loss record and search LOST112

Search the Korean National Police LOST112 system and contact the transport operator or venue where the item may have been handed in. The official English FAQ says a foreigner without a Korean resident registration number may need to visit the nearest police station or police box to file the loss report. Bring identification if you still have it and request the report receipt if an insurer requires one.

Use specific descriptions without exposing secrets: make, model, color, case, distinguishing marks, last known location and time. For a wallet, list the types of cards and documents but do not post full numbers. A LOST112 match is not proof that a stranger contacting you is genuine; verify collection instructions through the official facility.

Replace travel documents through the correct authority

For a lost passport, contact your own embassy or consulate using its official government website; only that mission can state its replacement or emergency-document requirements. Call 1345 separately when the loss affects a Korean visa, entry record, residence card, permitted stay or departure procedure. A new passport does not automatically update every Korean immigration record or onward visa.

Tell the airline only after the issuing mission explains what document it can provide and verify any transit-country rules. Keep the police record, old document number if known, embassy correspondence, new document details and receipts together. Do not upload passport scans to a public Q&A or send them to an unverified helper.

Rebuild access and document the insurance claim

Use a separate backup card or trusted payment method for immediate food, transport and accommodation. Avoid moving your whole remaining balance into a new app on an unfamiliar public computer. When the phone number is restored, review mobile-wallet cards, messaging sessions, passkeys, authenticators and account alerts before treating the incident as closed.

Save the police receipt, LOST112 references, device serial or IMEI, provider suspension confirmation, card case numbers, unauthorized-transaction records, replacement receipts and travel changes. Ask the insurer which evidence and deadlines apply; a police report documents the event but does not guarantee reimbursement.

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