With mobiles or cell phones becoming fancier, more popular, and more expensive, they are increasingly liable to theft. Telephone security is of the utmost important in era when everyone has so much sensitive information stored on their phone. Mobile theft or loss is a pain for the victim and there is not much you can do once your phone has gone missing. We discuss the risks associated with losing your phone and some prevention measures that can help you keep your phone safer.
Lost/Stolen Mobile Phone Risks
Following are some of the major risks associated with mobile theft or loss:
- A lot of people have personal pictures, videos, documents and audio files on their phones. Losing your phone means risking all these personal documents falling into the hands of a stranger.
- In addition to losing all of your contacts and address book entries, there is also the risk of them falling into the wrong hands.
- If you use a smartphone, you will have your phone linked to your email and social media accounts. This means that whoever has your phone now can log in and use your online accounts.
- Anyone finding your phone could read through your email and SMS communication.
- There is also the risk that the person who has your phone now could start making calls and run up your bill.
Telephone Security Measures
Following are some of the things you can do right now to make sure you are safe from many of the stolen mobile phone risks:
- Always make sure you have all the model and product details of your phone. Note down your phone’s IMEI number, product number and save any receipts or boxes that came with the phone. These will come in handy if you want to report the missing phone to the police or get it remotely blocked.
- Don’t save the passwords for the social media and email apps you use. While entering a password every time you log in might seem like a pain, it is much better than risking your accounts being used by some stranger.
- All your pictures, videos, audio files and documents should be backed up on your PC. Most mobile phone’s desktop software has a backup option.
- A lot of phones let you lock specific folders with a password. All your personal files and folders should be password protected so anyone finding your phone would not be able to access them. Also use a screen lock password.
- Buy a holster or carry case for your phone that makes it less likely to drop or get picked off by someone.
- There are a large number of security apps that can be installed into your smartphone. In case of theft or loss, you can use these apps to remotely block your phone, wipe off/backup any sensitive data, set off an alarm and get your phone’s GPS location.
While we like to believe that this list is pretty comprehensive, we would welcome any people who want to share their own mobile safety tips and suggestions in the comment area below.
