How to protect my mobile phone from theft

How to protect my mobile phone from theft? You cannot risk your phone being stolen, especially nowadays. Our phones hold almost all of our personal information. This includes your bank account pin, contacts, browsing history, photos, videos, conversations and so much more. It’s like a mini private safe.

This is an era in which phone theft is on the rise worldwide. A thousand phones are misplaced and stolen every other day. It could be taken from you casually walking down the street or running into a stranger in the next minute. Before you know it your phone is whisked away and you’re left there wondering what to do next. You could have placed it next to you in the taxi and forgot it behind when you reached your final destination.

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This takes us to why it’s extremely necessary to safeguard our personal information, to prevent strangers or thieves getting their hands on it.

In the next paragraphs, you’ll find out the different ways your phone could easily get stolen plus preventive measures to take so that your phone isn’t stolen and what to do in case it’s already stolen. There are advantages and disadvantages of some of these measures, consider them and know what they come with.

Keep your mobile phone close all the times.

Normally people tend to get comfortable and placing their phones anywhere they can find. Of course, it’s usually with the intention that they’ll pick it up later on as there living. In most cases, this rarely happens and they end up forgetting the phones either on a table somewhere or on the back seat of the taxi. You can save yourself  trouble and headache by either tightly holding your phone in your hands or simply letting it stay in your bag.

When you leave your phone in your bag you’re sure it’s there and therefore reducing the chances of it being stolen. However, once you remove it, especially in public places, your chances of losing it increase.

The only disadvantage here is that you won’t be able to directly reply to your texts or calls in real-time. You’re guaranteed that your phone is safe which is the upside.

Avoid using your mobile phone in areas that are known for crime

Do not take out your phone in an area where you know your phone could get stolen. Rather it’s safer to use it in a place where it most likely won’t get misplaced or snatched by a stranger. You may think no one is looking at you as you press away on your flashy phone or those visible headphones swinging from your ears.

Take note that in crime-prone areas chances are someone will stop you and plot how to steal your expensive device. So the point here is to keep your phone in your pockets or bag when in these areas until you get to a much safer place.

Avoid offering to tell the time when a stranger asks especially when you’re not feeling safe

This is a commonly used trick by strangers, they trick you into removing your device to check for the time. This allows them to see if your device is worth stealing. The only way you can get around this is by telling them you don’t know what time it is without necessarily removing your phone. You may come out as rude but it’s all worth it.

Be extra careful when using your mobile phone in public areas

You may get bored as you wait for the taxi or some other thing in a public area. People tend to think public areas have cameras and so they can take out their phones and text or answer calls. As much as this could take away your boredom. The thieves can also use that chance to catch you completely off guard and run off with your device. Worse still catching a thief in a crowded public place is close to impossible. All he or she has to do is camouflage among other people making it even more difficult for you to spot them.

Using your phone in crime-prone areas, carelessly placing it anywhere, and using your phone to show a stranger what time it is, are some of the most common ways on how devices get misplaced and stolen. The next question here is now that your phone is probably gone, what do you do next?

 The next steps involve measures that you mostly should have done before as a safety net in case your phone gets stolen. Some of them can help you recover it. Here they are:

Use a strong password to lock your mobile phone screen.

A strong password will prevent thieves from hacking into your phone the moment it’s stolen. To prevent your phone from being accessed by anyone, you must use a strong password that’s difficult to crack. Stay away from passwords that can easily be guessed. These usually are either made up of your names, birthdates, age, friends’ names, and the like. Rather strive to create a password with at least up to eight characters. These characters should include capital letters, numbers, and symbols. For example, a password like /D90a?!78+ can rarely be guessed.

However, this strong password has a downside. Sometimes it may not be easy for the owner to memorize, which may cause them to get locked out of their own devices. To prevent that from happening you can use the fingerprint scanner as an extra layer of security. Most of today’s phones come enabled with a fingerprint scanner for a more personalized and secure experience.

Back up important information (documents, videos, photos, etc.)

How to protect my mobile phone from theft? We are constantly reminded by our devices to back up our information. We don’t lose anything in the event our devices get stolen or when information is deleted. It’s only when we ignore these calls to action reminders that we end up regretting later. If you don’t want to be the one that regrets why they didn’t, you must back up your work in the cloud resource which is available to most users.

Examples are Apple iCloud, Google+ for Android phones, and Microsoft one drive. Your memories are much safer backed up here. This has an advantage because even if the thieves erase your information when your phone is stolen. You can still access it on your computer. There you have the option of restoring the information when you get a new phone or simply access the information when you need to.

Use the “find my mobile phone feature”

The GPS Connectivity that you normally use when trying to locate restaurants and cool places to visit around your area. This could is your saviour in recovering your phone once it gets stolen. You can also find a ton of such applications on Google play store or any other online store however it’s important to download an effective one. Your GPS must be turned on for the find my phone feature function to work.

The only downside of this measure though is that you have to locate your device early. You will also probably need to inform the police quickly. The longer you take the quicker the thieves will be able to disable the GPS button. They will remove your sim cards and switch off the phone hence you may not be able to recover it.

Below are ways on how to set up and use the app on different mobile phones. Protect the phone from theft

iPhone:

How to protect my mobile phone from theft? One answer is to Download the “find my phone” app from your iTunes app store. Simply sign in with your iTunes account and therein you’ll be able to track your missing phone on your pc.

Android Phones:

Look for the Android Device Manager that’s located in the device settings. There you will come across how to locate your missing phone while using your computer.

Windows Phones:

The find my app feature on this phone is located in the main settings menu. Using your computer, log in to your Microsoft account and track down your missing phone.

Some companies like Apple have taken their security checks a step further. Even after your personal information has been completely erased, you are still required to type in your iTunes ID and password. Otherwise, the device stays locked. This feature is called the Activation Lock found in iOs7. It is enabled automatically as you set up the find my phone feature.

The disadvantage here is that today’s thieves have been able to bypass this security measure. A thief that wants to access your phone’s features will stop at nothing. They will go to hell and back until they can log in.

Keep your device ID number in case of theft.

How to protect my mobile phone from theft? Every smartphone comes with a unique serial number called an IMEI. This means (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) also known as (Mobile Equipment Identifier). This unique number is engraved deep in the phone’s circuits and is very difficult to erase. The IMEI is a 15 digit number that you can use to locate your phone when it is stolen.

Usually, when you report a stolen phone to the police, they ask for the IMEI number. For those that don’t know where to find it, just check in the phone box that you purchased the phone in. Sometimes it’s written on top of your device battery.

If you can’t find it simply dial *#06# on your phone and the 15 digit number will appear on your phone screen.

This measure is one that you can rely on as most thieves won’t have the time to destroy the phones IMEI number. Once you have it you can catch them.

Make a record of your mobile phone’s details.

This may seem like a waste of time because you think you know you’re phone so well. However, when it gets stolen and the police request a clear description, you may have a difficult time explaining. These are some of the phone details the police may request in the event of trying to recover your device;

• Colour and appearance
• Phone number
• Make and model.
• IMEI number
• Any other unique details.

As soon as your device gets stolen you have to call your network operator and police to report the case as soon as possible. They can use your phone IMEI number to block your phone and any other account details. This measure is a sure step that your details are safe. They may also ask you a few questions about who was the last person you talked to, important dates, account balances, and the like. This information will assist you to get a hold of your accounts and to have them blocked until you get a new phone or recover the missing one.

Conclusion

How to protect my mobile phone from theft? These are the most common ways in which devices get stolen or go missing. You can apply the stated ways on how to prevent your phone from getting stolen, plus how to go about recovering your phone. What is most important in recovering your device is acting very quickly. In most of these situations the longer you take, the slimmer your chances of recovering your phone.