Introduction
Has there been a crazy rise in stolen phones in your area the past couple of years?
It’s not just in your head. Phone theft is more popular than ever, even in places where you wouldn’t have been in danger of it before.
The Federal Communication Commission released an official statement, calling it an “epidemic.”
What’s behind this rise in mobile device theft, and what would such a crime mean for you?
If You Become a Victim
How much is a good, usable phone nowadays? Even secondhand, you’re looking at a couple hundred dollars to replace your lost property if somebody swipes your cell. New ones easily run into the thousands.
That’s not even to mention how long you might sit in a repair store waiting to get your contacts and other data back. Even still, you might never fully recover all that info, especially if you haven’t backed up your photos and other apps in awhile.
To recuperate fully from the damage, half of victims pay approximately $500 to get back all their lost data. 1 in 3 people would pay one thousand dollars to get their data back.
Nearly 70% of people would risk their physical safety to get their property back, too. If you had location services on, would YOU stalk your thief to the bad side of town? Hopefully not!
Physically Secure Your Devices
Take the proper steps to prevent theft from ever occurring in the first place. Keep your devices securely on your person, or better yet, leave them at home if you don’t need to use them. You might start by rethinking taking your laptop on the next family trip, or keeping your phone in a safe at hotels. All of these little precautions add up to greater security in the long run!
If something bad does happen, report it to the authorities and your IT service providers ASAP. Then, head over to the nearest computer to remotely lock and wipe your device. Most smart phones will have a way to log in, lock and clean your device of your data, and report it lost all through their online portal. If your phone is just lost, not stolen, then you can sometimes include a message that will pop up for whomever finds it, identifying how to get in contact with you and return the phone to its owner.
Conclusion
30M people have their phones stolen every year in the United States. It’s been officially declared an epidemic by the FCC. Take your devices’ physical security as seriously as you take online privacy!
Human error is responsible for 95% of data breaches. You can bring that number down by taking little steps to preserve your devices’ and data’s security every single day.
