Communication Devices in The 21st Century

Seven Simple Steps to Look After Your Mobile Phone

Statistics tell us that around 88% or people don’t leave home these days without their mobile phones. Clearly reliance on these devices means that losing one can be a real nightmare.

As mobile phones have become increasingly small and lightweight they’ve become easier to lose, drop or misplace. In 2008 around 200,000 mobile phones went into washing machines, around 600,000 were dropped down the loo and 55,000 were left in the back of taxis.

There is also the growing and worrying risk of theft. 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.

If a mobile phone is lost there is the initial financial headache of 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 is the impact of lost data, especially contacts.

It is estimated that fewer than 2 in 10 mobile phone users keep their phone SIM card data backed up to a separate device. Although most phones come with software that makes it easy to backup data from the phone to a computer few people take advantage of this.

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

1. The first thing is to make it difficult for a thief to actually steal your mobile phone. Never ever leave your phone unattended in your car and always store it securely.
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 simple step is to switch your phone to vibrate mode when in a busy public place in order to ensure that nobody else is alerted 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 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.
6. It is worthwhile establishing a backup routine, copying your valuable SIM card data to secure storage location as often as possible. As a rule, if you are adding new contacts and appointments or notes to your phone every day you really should be backing up your phone data every day.
7. Finally, make certain that you have some mobile phone insurance that provides the protection that you need. Remember that not all mobile phone insurance policies are the same so be certain to read the details and ensure that you get the cover that you want.

Hopefully you and your mobile phone will not become one of the future lost or stolen 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.

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