If you think of your smartphone as just a phone, rather than a
very powerful mini-computer that happens to make phone calls, you may
be cruising for a world of pain.
That’s because the amount of sensitive data many of us store on our
phones is truly staggering. A smartphone provides us direct access to
our savings and checking accounts. It may store our passwords to
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, even our email accounts. The phone numbers
and email addresses of all our friends and colleagues are easy to find
in our contacts directory.
What chaos could ensue if a thief happens to get his hands on all
that data? And it probably isn’t especially hard to steal. Any security
system is only as good as its weakest link, and humans are the weakest
link of all. Despite our best intentions, how many of us have left our
phones — or come dangerously close to leaving them — in the backseat of a
taxi, sitting on top of the toilet paper dispenser at our favorite
restaurant, in the seatpocket of an airliner, on the bar of a tavern, by
the hotel pool, or on a conference table after a meeting?
Equally unpleasant, your phone could be hacked or compromised by a
virus while you are doing online banking — or browsing the Internet at
your favorite Starbucks, at the airport, in a hotel lobby, or sitting at
a table waiting for your date to arrive.
If you’ve taken the right steps to protect yourself, losing your
phone will be just an annoyance. But if you’ve failed to safeguard your
phone with a password, backing up all your data and installing a program
that can wipe the phone’s data remotely, you are setting yourself up
for a seriously traumatic event.
To help you prepare your defenses, here are the 10 dumbest things that people do (or fail to do) with their smartphones.
1) No password protection.
If you could “lock” your wallet, wouldn’t you? Well, why don’t more
folks lock their iPhone or Android phone? While it is nowhere CLOSE to
being foolproof, a phone password works like the theory of the burglar
and the dog: If you take that extra step to protect yourself, most bad
guys will simply move on to the next (easier) target. It’s a lot easier
for a thief to steal a smartphone with no password than it is to work on
cracking your phone.
2) Shop online with an Internet browser instead of a shopping app.
If you have the choice between shopping at Amazon.com using your
phone’s browser versus Amazon’s app, use the app! Ditto for eBay,
Overstock, and any big retailer that gives you the option of using their
app. Unlike browsers, dedicated shopping apps are designed to ward off
phishing and other kinds of scams. (Before you download it, just make
sure it’s really their official app!)
3) Remain logged into banking, PayPal, eBay, and other sensitive apps.
Would you keep your Macy’s credit card, Wells Fargo debit card or
AmEx on top of your desk at work? How about the front seat of your car? I
think not. Then why would you keep your phone permanently logged into
those same accounts? When you finish banking or shopping, make sure to
log out. And NEVER click the box asking the app to save your user ID or
password. Yes, it’s a pain in the b*tt to log in every time. We all tend
to value convenience over security. But if a thief gets a hold of a
phone that is already logged into sensitive accounts — especially if
that phone has no password — it could spell financial disaster. And
remember, turning off your devices every now and then can be a good
idea.
4) Automatically connect to any available WiFi connections.
Whether you are using your laptop, tablet or smartphone, switch off
the feature that connects to nearby WiFi networks automatically.
Otherwise, hackers with the right software can easily hack your phone,
as security experts have warned us for more than a decade.
5) Leave Bluetooth connections open.
Bluejacking, Bluesnarfing, Bluebugging. These are all words that
describe a hacker exploiting the open Bluetooth connection on your
phone. While this type of hack requires the intruder to be relatively
close to you (less than 30 feet away), the intrusion can occur
undetected in a busy airport, hotel lobby, restaurant, or at a
conference.
6) Fail to properly purge data from old smartphones.
This is a very common mistake. Many people fail to remove sensitive,
personal data from their smartphone before taking it out of service,
donating it or selling it. Short of physically shredding your device
(which is the only surefire way to delete all your data in an
irretrievable manner). Deleting data before getting rid of your phone is
simple common sense.
7) Download “free” apps that aren’t actually free.
Some Apps that call themselves “free” are actually little more than
thinly-disguised data thieves. Downloading one gives the app complete
access to your phone, which a fraudster can use to steal your credit
card and bank account info. Such apps also can turn your phone into a
launch pad from which scammers can attack other peoples’ phones with SMS
texts and Smishing scams. Be smart and discreet about what you
download. Read reviews first, and make sure the apps you download come
from reputable sources.
8) Storing sensitive data on phones.
Many people store passwords, pins, Social Security numbers, credit
card or bank account information on smartphones. It may be a document
created expressly for this purpose, or it could be an email they
themselves from their computers. On a phone, emails and downloaded
documents are especially easy for thieves to find and steal, especially
if the phone is not password protected. Some people even label the
document or email “passwords,” making them especially easy prey for
hackers and scammers. Make sure to delete all documents and emails
containing sensitive information from your phone.
9) Failing to clear browser history.
Not clearing the browser history on your phone can be just as
dangerous as staying logged into the website of your bank or your
favorite store (see mistake #3). By retracing your steps, a phone thief
can use your history to hijack your accounts, steal your money and wreck
havoc.
10) No remote wiping software.
Various apps and services enable you to locate your phone, and also
wipe its data clean, if it’s lost or stolen. Tech-savvy hackers may be
able to disengage these applications, but it’s just one more layer of
protection you can use to reduce your risks if you ever lose your phone.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many anti-identity theft
laws we passed, or how vigorously those laws are enforced. The ultimate
guardian of the consumer is the consumer herself. Your identity is your
asset. It is up to you to vigorously defend and protect it. You can
take major steps toward protecting yourself by avoiding these stupid
smartphone tricks.
InformationNigeria
