7 Easy Ways to Protect Your Mobile Phone

Statistics show that around 88% of us don’t leave home without our mobile phones. Given that most of us rely on these ubiquitous devices every day losing one can be a disaster.
But mobile phones have become increasingly compact and lightweight and people often misplace them or they fall out of pockets without our knowledge. In 2008 around 200,000 mobile phones went into washing machines, around 600,000 were dropped down the loo and 55,000 were left in the back of taxis.
Then there is the growing risk of theft. In the UK alone more than 2 million mobile phones are stolen each year. This equates to around one every 12 seconds and this figure is on the increase.
If a mobile phone is lost there is the initial financial headache of replacement. But there may also be phone bills accrued by a thief between the time the phone was stolen and the time it was eventually disabled. Then there is the impact of lost data, especially contacts.
It is estimated that fewer than 2 in 10 mobile phone users keep their phone SIM card data backed up to a separate device. Even though most modern mobile phones come with software that makes it simple to transfer data from a phones SIM card to a computer relatively few people do this routinely.
So what can we each do to protect ourselves and our valuable data against loss or theft?
Firstly, don’t make it easy for a thief to steal your mobile phone. Keep it somewhere secure and don’t ever leave it unattended in the car or anywhere else.
Make certain you record the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of your phone. This is a number that is unique to every mobile phone and can be used to disable a phone if it’s been lost or stolen.
You might like to configure your phone to only work after you have entered a PIN. This can be a bit of a nuisance but it will prevent a thief from running up substantial bills on your account.
Another recommendation is to switch your phone to vibrate mode when in busy public places in order not to attract attention when your phone rings.
You may like to engrave your name and maybe your car registration details onto your phone and its battery. Alternatively there are systems for attaching unique serial number stickers (as provided by trackitback.com) to your phone which will help identify your phone if it is lost or stolen.
Get into the habit of backing up your SIM card data as often as possible. If you are adding new contacts and appointments every day then you should be backing up your mobile phone data every day.
Finally, make certain that you have some mobile phone insurance that provides the protection that you need. Not all mobile phone insurance policies are the same so make certain that the one you choose provides the protection that you need.
Hopefully you and your mobile phone will not become one of the future lost or stolen statistics.

Statistics show that around 88% of us don’t leave home without our mobile phones. Given that most of us rely on these ubiquitous devices so much every day losing one can be a disaster.

But mobile phones have become increasingly compact and lightweight and people often misplace them or they fall out of pockets without our knowledge. In 2008 around 200,000 mobile phones went into washing machines, around 600,000 were dropped down the loo and 55,000 were left in the back of taxis.

Then there is the growing risk of theft. In the UK alone more than 2 million mobile phones are stolen each year. This equates to around one every 12 seconds and this figure is on the increase.

If a mobile phone is lost there is the initial financial headache of replacement. But there may also be phone bills accrued by a thief between the time the phone is stolen and the time it is eventually disabled. Then there is the impact of lost data, especially contact details, which can be the biggest headache of them all.

It is estimated that fewer than 2 in 10 mobile phone users keep their phone SIM card data backed up to a separate device. Even though most modern mobile phones come with software that makes it simple to transfer data from a phone SIM card to a computer relatively few people do this routinely.

So what can we each do to protect ourselves and our valuable data against loss or theft? Here are seven simple suggestions:

  1. Firstly, don’t make it easy for a thief to steal your mobile phone. Keep it somewhere secure and don’t ever leave it unattended in the car or anywhere else.
  2. Make certain you record the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of your phone. This is a number that is unique to every mobile phone and can be used to disable a phone if it’s been lost or stolen. Where to find this on your mobile phone will be in the manual or on the manufacturers website.
  3. You might also like to configure your phone to only work after you have entered a PIN. This can be a bit of a nuisance but it will prevent a thief from running up substantial bills on your phone account.
  4. Another recommendation is to switch your phone to vibrate mode when in busy public places in order not to attract attention when your phone rings.
  5. You may like to engrave your name and maybe your car registration details onto your phone and its battery. Alternatively there are systems for attaching unique serial number stickers (as provided by trackitback.com) to your phone which will help identify your phone if it is lost or stolen.
  6. Get into the habit of backing up your SIM card data as often as possible. If you are adding new contacts and appointments every day then you should be backing up your mobile phone data every day.
  7. Finally, make certain that you have some mobile phone insurance that provides the protection that you need. Not all mobile phone insurance policies are the same so make certain that the one you choose provides the protection that you require.

Hopefully you and your mobile phone will not become one of the future lost or stolen statistics.

Posted under Broadband & Mobile Phones

This post is a Blogger on October 16, 2009

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