Seven Simple Steps to Look After Your Mobile Phone
Smashing A Mobile Phone
Statistics tell us that around 88% or people don't leave home these days without their mobile phones. Reliance on these incredibly popular and useful devices means that losing one can result in some serious headaches.
Increasinglly compact and lightweight mobile phones mean that they are easily lost, misplaced or fall out of pockets. 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.
We must also consider the very real possibility that a phone may be stolen. In the UK alone more than 2 million mobile phones are stolen each year. This means that 1 mobile phone is stolen around every 12 seconds and this worrying trend is on the increase.
When a phone is lost there is, of course, the initial financial headache of getting a new 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. There are also the problems that can be caused by losing contact details and other data from the phone.
It has been found that fewer than 1 in 5 people who rely on their mobile phones go to the trouble of routinely backing up their phone data. Although modern phones come with software that makes it simple to transfer data to a computer still people don't take advantage of this simple facility.
So what can we each do to protect ourselves and our valuable data against loss or theft?
- Firstly, don't make it easy for a thief to steal your mobile phone. Never ever leave your phone unattended in your car and always store it securely.
- Make certain you record the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of your phone. This is a unique number applied to each and every mobile phone that can be used to disable the mobile phone in the event that it is lost or stolen.
- Most moble phones can be configured to only operate after a PIN has been entered. Having to enter a PIN each time you want to use your phone can be a bit of a nuisance but it will prevent a thief from running up significant call charges on your account.
- 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.
- 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 phone which will help identify your phone if it is lost or stolen.
- Get into the habit of backing up your SIM card data as often as possible. If you are adding new contacts and appointments every day then you should be backing up your mobile phone data every day.
- Finally, make certain that you have some mobile phone insurance that provides the protection that you need. Not all mobile phone insurance policies are the same so make certain that the one you choose provides the protection that you need.
Hopefully, by following these simple steps you will avoid becoming one of the lost or stolen mobile phone statistics.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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.
Tags: Insurance, mobile phone, protection, security