How to protect your data on your stolen smartphone

Sometimes people get their smartphone stolen, and even more rarely they are so lucky and get it back.

Noone who has the misfortune of having their smartphone stolen wants private pictures or information to fall into the hands of the evilddoers.

IT experts from AnyTech365 IoT Security Solutions will here provide you with 6 tips for how to handle it if you have your smartphone stolen.

1. Get your SIM card locked: The first thing to do when you lose or have your smartphone stolen is to make sure your SIM card is blocked. Call your tele company to get your SIM card blocked so you don’t get to pay for a high phone bill.

2. Change your passwords: Even if your SIM card is blocked, the thief can connect your smartphone to a wireless network and thus access your emails and social media. Therefore, change your passwords to critical accounts so that the thief does not have access to your online banking and personal information that can lead to identity theft in the worst case. Having a PIN on your phone makes it much harder for unauthorized people to access the content.

3. Track your phone: Most smartphones are equipped with GPS, which allows you to track the phone if it gets stolen or you lose it. Using an application like Find My iPhone or Google Find My Device , you can track and lock your smartphone remotely.

4. Delete personal data: No one wants unauthorized people to gain access to their photos, contacts and other personal data. Fortunately, you have the option to delete the contents of your stolen smartphone.
   If you have an iPhone, in iCloud, install and use Find My iPhone, you can log on to icloud.com/find and delete the contents of your stolen device. If you are an Android user, you also have the same option. All it takes is that you set up your phone for it. To do this, turn on Android Device Manager. When turned on, just like with an iPhone, you can see where the device is and delete all content on it.

5. Tell friends and family: It's a good idea to tell your friends and family that your smartphone has been stolen or lost. Unless you have changed all your passwords and if they see that something mysterious is being posted from your Facebook profile, they can alert you to it. In worst case, it can lead to identity theft or a virus or spam that spreads to your Facebook friends.

6. Report the theft to the police and your insurance company: Report the theft to the police. It's always a good idea to also contact your insurance company.

Hope these 6 tips will never be needed and you will never have your phone stolen, however it is always handy to know what to do should it happen, you may also like to read our 6 Tips to protect your smartphone, it’s never to late to stay safe.