Seven Simple Steps to Protect Your Mobile Phone

Statistics tell us that around 88% or people don’t leave home these days without their mobile phones. Given that most of us rely on these ubiquitous devices every day losing one can be a disaster.

As mobile phones have become increasingly small and lightweight they’ve become easier to lose, drop or misplace. There are some interesting statistics from 2008 including: around 200,000 mobile phones were put into washing machines, around 600,000 were dropped down toilets and 55,000 were left in the back of taxis.

There is also the growing and worrying risk of theft. There are over 2 million mobile phones stolen in the UK every year. This means that 1 mobile phone is stolen around every 12 seconds and this worrying trend is on the increase.

When a phone is lost there is, of course, the initial financial headache of getting a new replacement. There may be significant call charges amassed during the time between when a phone is stolen and when it eventually gets disabled. Then there are the problems that will arise as a result of losing contact details and other valuable data stored on the mobile phone.

It has been estimated that as few as only 1 in 5 mobile phone users bother to back up their SIM card data to a separate secure storage device. Although modern phones come with software that makes it simple to transfer data to a computer still people don’t take advantage of this simple facility.

So what can we each do to protect ourselves and our valuable data against loss or theft?

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 to record the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number from your mobile 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.
3. Most moble phones can be configured to only operate after a PIN has been entered. This can be a bit of a nuisance but it will prevent a thief from running up substantial bills on your 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 might like to engrave your name and your car registration details onto your mobile 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. It is worthwhile getting into the habit of backing up your SIM card data frequently. As a general rule you should back up your phone data as often as possible which should be every day if you are updating your contacts or appointments 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 need.

Hopefully, by following these simple steps you will avoid becoming one of the lost or stolen mobile phone statistics.