Since the cell phone theft is growing, especially in large cities, smartphone users put themselves at greater risk of identity theft once their device is stolen. According to the results of a Javelin Strategy and Research study of identity theft in 2012, smartphone users are 33 percent more likely to become a victim of identity theft. With the growing trend of smartphones, this number will more than likely continue to increase.
Considering smartphones are taking on almost every aspect of our lives, it is important that we know how to keep our identity protected against identity thieves. Here are some tips that can help you protect your identity while you are using your smartphone and in case your smartphone is stolen.
1. Have a lock protected by password: This seems to be the most obvious step you can take to protect your identity on your phone, but the results of the strategy and research Javelin 2012 found that 62 percent of phone users do not use a password on their home screen. Do not use a password means that any foreigner can take your phone and easily access all kinds of information -. From your phone contacts to emails to your Facebook account
It is unrealistic to believe that your information is completely protected by the password on the home screen, but having this barrier makes even more difficult for identity thieves to hack your phone. When choosing a password, it is essential to choose the password for the longest and the hardest. If you choose to set a numeric password, do not select easy as 1-2-3-4, instead of choosing your preferred date - not your birthday - or your favorite sequence number. As long as this number is not directly connected to your identity, such as the last four digits of your social security number, then it should be a strong password.
Both iPhones and Androids offer the opportunity to choose a password with letters and numbers. This option is more secure than the numerical password because, frankly, identity thieves have more choices when it comes to guess your password. When choosing a password, it is important that you choose one that is difficult and includes not only letters or numbers. The worst password, you can select is "password" or any variation of "password." Since you have a whole keyboard to select, you must select a password that is longer than six characters and include numbers and letters.
Android users have the option to choose a model that does not offer as much security as letter and number combo, it still offers a solid option for security as long as you uncheck " make visual patter. " When this feature is turned on, it allows a colored line to follow the movement of your finger, which makes it easy for anyone to watch you draw your model. Disabling this option will allow you to draw the model without visual tracking.
2. Be careful when you are connected to public wireless Internet: Have you ever go to the library or a cafe, university, airport or library and connect your phone their Wi-Fi? It is one of the easiest ways to save the data, but it could be jeopardizing your privacy. Although these Wi-Fi hotspots are convenient, they are often unsure which means that other people using the hot spots can hack your accounts and see what you do on your device.
There are two ways that you, as a user smartphone, can protect yourself against these wireless pirates. One of the main ways is to not connect to Wi-Fi or only connect to Wi-Fi password protected. However, users should always remember that just because it is protected that does not mean it is safe, especially if the public wireless messages the public password in business or public area. If you decide to connect to Wi-Fi, with or without protection by password, the second thing you want to do is make sure that you only use encrypted websites. When a website is encrypted, it means that information is encrypted before it is sent, making it more difficult for hackers to get information. A secure website starts with "https: //" and you want to ensure that every page you visit begins with "https: //," not only the login page.
3. Do not save passwords in your phone: This is something that many people are guilty of - it is really convenient to just pull up an application or website and your saved login information, right? One problem is that if your phone is ever stolen, all your information is now accessible to the thief. Even if you only have automatic login to your Facebook account, you always put your identity at risk because the thief can gather a lot of personal information in your account, and even publish information or "business" under your name try to scam your friends. In this case, you are better to sacrifice convenience for the safety of your identity.
4. Do not dispose of personal information readily available on your phone: Let's face it - our lives require a lot of different numbers and passwords to make it easier on ourselves, we keep all those bank account numbers, credit card numbers and passwords on a notebook or as a contact in our phone. It is a bit stupid habit we have adopted because it only takes one person to hack our phone to have all your personal information right at their fingertips. Then, besides dealing with the impact of a stolen phone, you will also treat headaches to change the account numbers and passwords stored on your phone. If you need to keep a log of this information, but want to ensure it is better protected on your phone, you must store the information in a Word document protected by password. It is not safe to keep this sensitive information on your phone, but keeping protected information makes it a little harder for identity thieves to access them after stealing your phone.
5. Know what your apps have access to your phone: When you download an application on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store a list appears and you must select "J ' agree "or" OK "to complete the download of the application. This list is populated with information from the application has access to your phone. Some of the information that the majority of popular applications have access to the site includes photos, contacts and calendar to your device, among other information. It's exciting when you buy or download a new application, but you need to take a minute to check that this application requires access to, as it could very well be that the application will have access to more information than you are comfortable with.
In addition to double-check that the application has access, you should also go to settings of the application and disable the monitoring capacity. Track your location on Facebook can be fun, but it could also be putting your identity and security in danger. The problem with applications that detects the location of your device is that you make a roadmap of your life - where you go regularly and even the location of your home. Turning track the location off applications, you protect your privacy against future phone hackers. If you choose to allow your applications to track your position then you may do you more vulnerable to hacking identity.
6. Device register to "find my phone" app or feature: The "find my phone" app or feature is an application you must enable location tracking these. applications and features allow you to track your phone if it is lost, as well as completely clear the memory of your phone if it is stolen. This is an extremely useful tool, because then you do not have to worry if the phone thief will have access to all the information on your phone. These applications and features are available on both iPhone and Android phones.
smartphones are a big part of our daily lives, and because we are the loaded with large amounts of personal information. If our devices are stolen, we put our identity in danger because of all the unlimited information we allow these devices to store. Following these steps can help you protect your privacy when you use your smartphone or in case your smartphone is stolen.