Google saves the day: Teen tracks her stolen phone through Google apps

MUMBAI: A 19 year old teen from Andheri tracked down the man who had stolen her Android cellphone. Another handset was used to track every online activity of the thief and managed to get the Railway Protection Force(RPF) to catch him just before leaving the town.

“I couldn’t recollect where my phone went missing,” told Zeenat Banu Haq, a resident of Marol, who teaches at a preschool. After returning from a trip to Malad, she did not find her Xiaomi 4A phone.

A section called “My activity” in the Google account, where one can see and manage things such as websites visited, videos watched and searches done. She logged into her Google account and turned on the “location” on her lost phone.

“I used another Android handset to log onto my Google account and keep a track of the activities done using the stolen phone. I found that the thief had searched for songs from the Rajinikanth starrer ‘Kaala’. He used the SHAREit app, updated WhatsApp messenger and accessed Facebook. Then, he downloaded an app for booking railway tickets,” told Zeenat.

She added saying that, “Through Google Photos, I accessed his ticket details as well as his photo. A quick internet search showed that the train was Puducherry Express and it would leave from Dadar Terminus around 9:30 pm on Sunday. I left home and headed straight for Dadar Terminus where I found RPF personnel and narrated everything. When he finally arrived and took his seat, the RPF started to quiz him. My phone was found but he claimed it had been mortgaged with him. By then, I had broken down as I was scared. But the RFP asked a lot of questions and he and the woman he was travelling with gave contradictory answers.”

She was able to track him till the end as the location was still on the lost phone. The activities are also being noticed. Later the police gave the smartphone to her.