At Comms Connect we all welcome the gradual return to normality, but one thing we are not pleased to see is a resurgence of moped and scooter-riding mobile phone theft.
It can be difficult to completely protect yourself against being a victim of this crime even if you follow all the sensible precautions on usage when out and about.
If you are unlucky and your phone does get snatched, there are several ways to stop thieves accessing any data on your phone once they have it in their possession. Please note that most of these measures need to be put into place before any crime occurs.
Safety measures
The simplest level of protection is just locking your phone with a strong password or (if your phone supports it) using biometric data such as your thumbprint or face recognition.
Another easy solution is to make a note of your International Mobile Equipment Identity number (IMEI). All you need to do is type *#06# into the keypad and the unique number will appear on the screen. Make sure you keep a note of the number on another device or take a screenshot and save it to a secure file on your laptop or tablet. You can also find it under the ‘About’ phone tab on your handset. If your phone is then stolen the police may be able to locate it using the IMEI number. You also need to give the number to your network provider so they can block any calls the thieves try to make so you’re not liable for a big bill.
Most phones can enable tracking Apps such as Find My for Apple and Find My Device for Android. First, ensure that you have them set up to be tracked from another device whether your own or someone else’s. These Apps can track your phone’s location and by marking it as ‘Lost’ your phone will lock remotely thus rendering it unusable to any unscrupulous thief. Find My can also be used to completely wipe the phone of content, but don’t do this until you’ve used the App to locate and lock (and make sure your precious photos are backed up first!).
Call us!
Thankfully you don’t have to be a tech wizard to protect your phone, but if you want any further information on how to secure any of your devices from thieves or online fraud, then call us on 0345 370 5000 or visit commsconnect.co.uk today to see how we can help o
