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.
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.
We must also consider the very real possibility that a phone may be stolen. In the UK alone more than 2 million mobile phones are stolen each year. This means that around one is stolen every 12 seconds and this frightening figure is on the increase.
When a phone is lost there is, of course, the initial financial headache of getting a new 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 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 found that fewer than 1 in 5 people who rely on their mobile phones go to the trouble of routinely backing up their phone data. 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?
- The first thing is to make it difficult for a thief to actually 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 unique number applied to each and every mobile phone that can be used to disable the mobile phone in the event that it is lost or stolen.
- You can set your mobile phone to only operate after a configured PIN has been entered. While it can be a nuisance to have to enter a PIN each time you want to use your phone this simple step will stop a thief from running up significant call charges 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 might consider labelling your mobile phone by engraving your name and car registration details onto your phone and its battery. Alternatively you might like to use a system for attaching unique serial number stickers to your phone (as provided by trackitback.com) to your mobile phone as this will help identify the phone if it is lost or stolen.
- 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.
- Finally, make certain that you have some mobile phone insurance that provides the protection that you need. There are differences between various mobile phone insurance policies so be certain to read the small print and ensure that the policy suits your requirements.
Hopefully, by following these simple steps you will avoid becoming one of the lost or stolen mobile phone statistics.
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You may also like to protect your income with income protection and don’t overlook the need to protect other devices with some useful gadget insurance.