Apple Revises Stolen iPhone Advice, Urging 3 Key Steps Against Unlock Scams

Q: Could Apple's advice to hide your number prevent a good Samaritan from returning your lost, not stolen, iPhone?

Not necessarily. Apple’s warning is aimed at stolen iPhones, where showing a phone number on the lock screen can give thieves a direct way to run convincing scams and pressure the owner into unlocking the device or removing it from Find My. For a genuinely lost phone, hiding your number could make a return slightly less convenient for a good Samaritan, because they would have one less direct way to reach you. But it does not block recovery altogether. Lost Mode is still designed to help reunite owners with devices by letting you display a custom message, and Apple’s broader guidance does not require you to expose your primary number if that creates risk. The practical distinction is between a lost phone and a stolen one. If you believe the phone was simply misplaced, showing a safe contact method can help. That does not have to be your main mobile number; an alternate number or email address is safer if available. If you suspect theft, Apple’s updated advice is to prioritize security over convenience: enable Lost Mode immediately, do not remove the device from Find My, and ignore any message or call claiming to be from Apple or asking you to unlock the phone. So yes, hiding your number may reduce the odds of a quick return in a true lost-and-found situation, but Apple’s updated guidance reflects a bigger risk: criminals increasingly use visible contact details to steal far more than the phone itself.

3 articles · Updated · KTBS · Jun 26

Apple updated its stolen-iPhone guidance to stress immediate Lost Mode, warning that the first minutes after a theft can determine whether thieves gain access.
The biggest change is to avoid showing a callback number in Lost Mode if the phone was stolen, because thieves can use that number in fake Apple Support calls or texts.
Apple also says never remove a stolen iPhone from Find My, since that disables Activation Lock and makes the device far easier to erase, reuse and resell.
If recovery fails, owners should report the theft, contact their carrier, remotely erase the phone and still keep it in Find My so Activation Lock remains on.