Great tips to protect your smartphone and what to do if it is lost or stolen.

Great tips to protect your smartphone and what to do if it is lost or stolen.

Originally shared by ****

Tips to Protect Your Smartphone from Being Snatched!

Situational awareness, being acutely aware of your surroundings,  is often difficult when you find yourself in tight or crowded places like public transportation - especially when you are focused on your smartphone and not those who are in your personal space.

The video below shows a lady, completely engrossed in what she is doing on her phone. having it snatched right out of her hands and the robber making an effective getaway. The signs were obvious enough (to observers) that something bad was about to happen and, thankfully, someone started shooting video! The phone snatcher was caught the next day because of this video.

This video is a real eye-opener and goes to show how quickly a theft like this happens. It also illustrates how helpless you can be to defend against this type of robbery if the bad guy knows what he's doing and the victim is not paying attention.

Here are some additional tips to prevent or react to the theft of your smartphone:

1. Pay attention. That something was about to happen in this instance was pretty obvious.

2. Have a plan. What will you do when your phone is lost or stolen? Do you have the number to mobile service provider handy so that you can call and cancel service in the shortest amount of time possible? (Don't keep this number in your purse in the event you lose your phone with your purse).  What usernames and passwords are stored in apps installed on your phone? Facebook, Twitter, email, online banking, etc... they all need to be changed immediately! Do you have a back up of stored information and contact lists? It might be a good idea to let those people in your phone book know that you've lost your phone, too.

3. Report the loss or theft to the police.

4. Fail-safe technology. There are services that can delete the data on your smartphone, lock it from further use, track it's exact location and even report phone and Internet usage in stealth mode. My favorite comes from http://preyproject.com but there are others and Apple has a service specific to iOS devices (iPads, iPhones, etc.) but these apps DO NOT WORK, if they aren't installed or active. Additionally, if the thief is savvy, he or she will be "flashing" the phone as soon as possible to get rid of these types of installed services, so work quickly! Apple can prevent devices from operating on any of their services (iTunes, App Store, etc) if you know the phone's serial number and report it as stolen.

Watch the video and don't blink - this bad guy works fast and with precise and practiced timing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-nUxexMejg