The smartphone disappeared? Take these precautions. Increase the chances of recovery
Banging in the subway, a dense crowd at a concert or simply temporarily not paying attention to the backpack – these are situations in which pickpants like to attack how the police repeatedly warns. In many cases, the victim is a smartphone. The authorities do not collect any data on this subject. However, last year, the Digital Bitkom Association in a representative survey revealed that smartphone theft is a mass phenomenon. One in five people was once stolen a cell phone, and one in two people once lost this device. If you behave correctly, you even have a chance to quickly recover the smartphone or at least make it worthless for the pickpocket.
Users store not only their personal photos and videos on their smartphones, but also a variety of confidential information, including banking data, credit cards and passwords. Many people also connect a phone with a car or home. They do not want to entrust to strangers to look through the monitoring camera at home or open electronic locks in the door and car. That is why experts recommend special care for a mobile phone. « The smartphone should be worn close to the body, in closed internal pockets » – says Joachim Wagner, spokesman for the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). However, there are ways to reduce damage in the event of loss. For this purpose, some precautions should be taken.
The mobile phone has disappeared? Precautions: Smartphone blockade and SIM cards
The two most effective protection functions are the lock of the device and SIM cards. The smartphone can be unlocked using a PIN, pattern or biometric function, such as a fingerprint or face recognition. Experts believe that pressing the screen is the least safe method, because it leaves the display on the display. « The preferred method of securing access to the smartphone should be a face or fingerprint scan« -recommends the Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Everyone who uses PIN should always protect his eyes when entering it in public places, especially if the strangers ask him for information that requires the smartphone to unlock. « As part of preventive measures, not only the device, but also the SIM card should be secured with a PIN code, » says Christian Fischer, spokesman for Deutsche Telekom.
« For convenience – because after switching on two security – some users turn off one or even both of them. » However, if the SIM card code is deactivated, it can also be removed from a locked smartphone and use another device – and cause further costs.
The mobile phone has disappeared? Precautions: Save the data automatically
The most important precautions, in addition to blocking the device and SIM card, are the function of creating backup and location. « For many people, the smartphone stores valuable memories in the form of photos and videos or serves as a digital phone book, » says Atenten Öksüz, an expert on data protection and security at the Consumer Advice Center in North Rhine-Westphalia. « In the event of losing or theft, the data saved on it will also disappear – unless a backup has been made. » – he adds.
This can be done automatically at regular intervals or manually every few weeks. Users can create backups of data in the cloud or transfer them to an external data carrier, which is an alternative more privacy -friendly.
If the smartphone is lost, the new device will be able to restore data. Backups should be activated in iPhones and Android mobile phones, then the data is regularly saved in Apple ICloud or Google Drive. Some producers, including Samsung and Honor, also have their own cloud services that can be used.
If you want to be able to locate your device later, you must turn on Location function on a smartphone. On the iPhone, this is done in the settings through the menu item « Where is it? ». At this point, enable the entry « Find my iPhone ». On the Android smartphone, the entry can be found in « Safety and Privacy » and « Searching for the device » or « Protection of the lost device ».
But be careful: Android smartphones also have the option to set trusted devices and locations. If a device like a smartwatch is connected to a smartphone by Bluetooth or is located in a specific location, the smartphone can be unlocked without giving a PIN or biometric function. In the case of theft, for example in a cafe, it is a dangerous attitude.
The mobile phone has disappeared? Precautions: Report to the police, locate the smartphone
If your smartphone has disappeared, you should not panic. « Try to call the device’s number, maybe it is still nearby, » advises BSI spokesman Joachim Wagner. Either you hear the bell or the finder will answer the phone. It can also be helpful to turn to the office of found things. The Consumer Center for North Rhine-Westphalia recommends placing stickers with contact data on the smartphone. If none of this helps, theft should be put on. Anyone who has previously activated the location function on their smartphone can now try to locate it from another device. If it is an iPhone, you can do it via the iCloud.com/Find website, where you log in using your Apple ID.
Loss of the smartphone. IPhone location or Android device
Then you can see on the map where the device is located or has recently been located. It is also possible to mark the mobile phone as lost, reproduce the sound or its complete removal. If it is marked as lost, a separate message with the phone number may be displayed: « I lost this iPhone and I am asking for a phone. » In addition, payment cards saved in the digital wallet are deactivated for Apple Pay.
If you lose your smartphone with Android, it can be located via Google.com/android/Find/. Here, too, you can recreate the sound and protect the device. In this case, it will be logged out of the Google account, but it will still be possible to locate. In addition, you can remotely restore factory settings. But then the location is no longer possible.
The mobile phone has disappeared? Precautions: Limit damage
If the smartphone has been stolen, the federal police advise you to report this fact. « To do this, you need a purchase contract, IMEI number and product description, » we read. IMEI means the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity and is an individual 15-digit identifier of a mobile device. It can be found on the smartphone packaging, but it can also be displayed on the display using the key code *# 06#.
This number should be saved at home in the case of an emergency. Consumer advice centers offer on their websites a mobile phone card for download, where the most important data is entered: mobile phone number, model, IMEI, SIM card number, operator and phone number of mobile operator. If you managed to locate your device yourself, the location should be reported to the police.
However, tracking by the police is unreal. Even if there is a direct threat, legal obstacles are high. « Network operators can, in accordance with the law, locate mobile devices only on the basis of a court order » – Telekom spokesman, Christian Fischer, says. Network operators, however, recommend blocking the SIM card immediately.
« In order for an emergency the supplier to block the SIM card, in addition to information such as the SIM card number, you also need a customer number or client password, » says Atenten Öksüz from the Consumer Advice Center at NRW. But be careful: block it only after locating the location, because after blocking the SIM card, the smartphone tracking by Apple and Google will no longer work. « If you want to keep security, you should also change passwords to important online accounts, such as e-mail, social networks or banking applications, if they are on your smartphone » – says Felix Kuhlelenkamp Bitts Safety Expert.
The mobile phone has disappeared? Precautions: with AI before theft
Google and Apple technology companies are constantly improving their smartphone protection protection. During the last I/O conference of I/O, Google announced a new protection against theft, which This year it will also be available as an update on older smartphones with Android 10 or newer. In this case, the device uses artificial intelligence (AI) and acceleration sensors to detect when the user’s smartphone is stolen and the thief escapes with it. In this case, it will be blocked immediately. Google reacts to the growing number of theft of unlocked cell phones.
At the beginning of the year, Apple added a new function « Protection of the stolen device » in the Settings menu in ‘Face ID & Code « , but it must be activated by the user
If the iPhone is not in a known place, such as home or work, to access access, it is required biometric authentication by means of a face recognition or fingerprint. Other activities, such as changing the Apple ID password, require users to wait an hour, and then carry out a second authentication using a face recognition or fingerprint. At that time, the legitimate owner of the iPhone could block the device.
The article was based on the translation of the text from Welt.de. Its author is Thomas Heuzeroth
This article appeared on 06.10.2024 for the first time on the Fakt website
Thank you that you have read our article to the end.
Stay up to date! Watch us in Google news.
