HOW IT WORKS
THE PROBLEM
Every day tens of thousands of important and valuable items are misplaced at airports, hotels, trains, taxis and other public places. Most of these are never returned to their owners because linking a found item to the owner is just too difficult.
OKOBAN – THE LOST AND FOUND SOLUTION
Okoban creates a link between owners and their property, assigning unique codes to any item that needs to be protected from accidental loss. The system is part of the largest network of Lost and Found offices in the world in more than 2200 airports. Your chances being reunited with lost property are significantly improved when using OKOBAN.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What do I need to get started?
Start by registering the UID. You will be guided on how to create your account.
The UID, or Unique IDentification code, is a twelve-character code that looks like this:
Once you have created and activated your account you can register an unlimited number of UIDs for FREE.
A UID is for use on only ONE item and is non-transferrable. If you buy a product with a pre-assigned UID the system already knows what product category you have. If you buy a “generic” UID label you can apply it to just about anything.
What are the requirements for a Username and Password?
Username: Your email address is your Username.
Password: We feel that you should be free to set your password and will help you by color coding the strength of your password of choice. Red is weak, orange is medium and green is strong. If you prefer to use a weak password you do so at your own risk. We will ask you to confirm that you are happy with the password you chose.
What are Personal Contact Details?
The system needs to know how to get in touch with you quickly when one of your registered items is found. The default contact method is by email. You can choose more than one email; for example work and home. You will get alert messages at each of the email addresses you add.
You may also add a phone number that is capable of receiving SMS (Short Message Service) or text messages. An alert message will be sent at the same time to your email address and to your mobile phone.
Note for users of Japanese Mobile phones: SMS or text messages cannot be sent to subscribers of Japanese mobile phones. Please add the email address of your phone to your Contact Preferences to receive these messages by mobile phone.
What is Language Preference?
Language Preference allows you to select your language of choice. Wherever possible information will be provided to you in your preferred language.
How do I activate my account?
Once you have entered your first Unique IDentifier (UID), selected its category and provided your email address and chosen password, you will receive an email from [email protected]. Please click on the link found in that email to validate your account and to complete the activation process.
I am under 18 and therefore not eligible to use the service. What can I do to register a UID or to report an item with an UID?
Please ask your parents or another adult to help.
How do I register a UID?
If it is your first item, enter the UID code on okoban.com exactly as it appears on the label or tag and click SUBMIT. Then click “Register an Item” and fill in or select all requested information. Enter REGISTER.
If you already have an Account, sign in and click on ADD NEW at the bottom. Enter the UID code exactly as it appears on the label or tag, click SUBMIT and continue the process.
What information must I provide?
For a pre-assigned UID no additional information is required – just the UID.
For a “generic” UID you will at least need to define the category and subcategory of the item you are registering such as a suitcase or smartphone. Choose from the list or use “Other”. We recommend you provide as much information about the item as possible.
What are the advantages of adding extra information?
The system gives you the chance to create an inventory of your important possessions. You can add brand and model names, a serial number, a description of the item, and you can even upload a picture. No matter what happens you now have an online record that could be very helpful in case of a disaster such as a fire, flood or accident.
For example, when you register a passport you can include all your passport details and upload a scan of your passport. If you need to replace your passport in an emergency you can access your account and print or email a copy of your passport details which will greatly help you in getting a replacement.
What happens if a UID shows "UID entered is not valid"?
Please carefully re-enter the UID and try again. You do not have to worry about capital letters (the UID is NOT case sensitive).
What happens if a UID shows "UID not registered"?
This means that the UID is valid but the owner has not registered it. In this instance the owner cannot be identified. Unregistered UIDs will not work until the owner registers it.
What information do I need to enter in Found Item's Details?
If the UID was added at the factory the Category, Brand and Model of the item will already be entered for you and these cannot be changed.
If no category is preselected for the item, please select the category that most closely matches the item.
You can add other information describing the item in up to 200 characters.
What is required in the Finder Details?
So that the owner can get in touch with you at least a name and valid email address, as well as an indication of when and where the item was found.
What is needed in the Where to Collect Item section?
Please give as much information as possible to make it easier for the owner to reclaim their item. Feel free to add a personal message in the Description section.
The owner wants the item shipped via courier service. Who arranges this?
It is the responsibility of the owner to arrange this but you may offer to help if you wish.
The item I have found appears damaged and some of the contents may be missing. What do I do?
Be sure to mention this in the Description section section when reporting the found item.