Over the years, smartphones have become more than just devices for making calls or exchanging messages. With our lives increasingly dependent on them, their security has become a key concern. In Nigeria, 2,854 phones were stolen every hour between May 2023 and April 2024. In South Africa, an average of 189 cellphones are stolen daily. Nairobi residents are mugged for their phones every 10 minutes.
While smartphone theft may seem inevitable, there are ways to protect yourself against it. This article will teach you to be one step ahead of phone pickpockets.
Tips to Prevent Smartphone Theft
Your smartphone contains your entire digital life, making your data vulnerable to being compromised by thieves. But there are effective measures to protect your phone from thieves.
1. Stay vigilant
The first thing to do to avoid phone theft is to be vigilant. Being vigilant keeps thieves at bay as much as possible. If you're in a restaurant or bar, avoid leaving your phone carelessly lying on your table. Similarly, if you’re walking on the street or inside a public transport, avoid keeping your phone in your back pocket or an unzipped handbag. If necessary, you can buy a neck strap or a lanyard to keep your phone safely connected to you and protect yourself from theft.
2. Set up screen lock
To effectively protect your smartphone, set up a reliable screen lock using a fingerprint or facial recognition. If the phone doesn’t have this biometric technology, a PIN of at least eight characters is recommended. Another option is to set up an unlock pattern known only to you. However, patterns are vulnerable to spying and can be easily cracked. So choose the screen lock that best suits your security needs and ensure your smartphone is always locked. For these measures to be effective, you should configure your phone to lock automatically as soon as possible.
3. Turn on two-factor authentication
Many apps offer two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security. Ensure that every important application on your smartphone – e.g, instant messaging apps, email, banking apps, authentication apps, etc – is doubly protected, especially if your phone gets snatched abruptly when unlocked. Go to the settings of your main apps and look for the two-factor authentication option under “Privacy”.
4. Lock your SIM card(s)
To further enhance the security of your smartphone, you should also set a PIN for your SIM card. While entering a PIN every time you reboot or upgrade your device can be tedious, this measure provides additional protection for your data. If your SIM card isn’t secured with a PIN, a thief can simply place it in any phone and easily access your phone number. This allows them to access certain websites, bypass two-factor authentication, and even transfer money from a bank card. Note: Do not use the same PIN for the screen lock and your SIM cards.
5. Enable device tracking
Enabling device tracing – “Find My Device” or “Find My iPhone” features for Android and iOS, respectively – is another way to protect your phone from thieves. These features, combined with your Google account or Apple ID, allow you to locate the approximate location of your smartphone if it gets stolen. They also allow you to remotely lock the device and even delete all personal data on it. However, this measure is only effective if the feature was enabled before the theft.
6. Backup your data regularly
It’s important to back up your data regularly to avoid losing your data. If you can't recover your smartphone in a case of theft, you can, at least, transfer your apps, photos, files, etc., to a new device. A backup is more useful when it's up-to-date, as less new data accumulated between the time the backup was created and the time of the theft will be lost. That’s why you should constantly create new backups of your smartphone. Another option is to encrypt your data, so it will be unusable by a thief even if your phone gets stolen.
7. Prevent factory reset
Another important safeguard to protect your smartphone from theft is to prevent factory resets. This measure prevents the device from being reset without your permission, rendering it unusable by thieves. While it’s possible to bypass this feature, it is extremely difficult. By preventing factory resets, you significantly increase the security of your smartphone and prevent potential thieves from accessing your personal data.
8. Use anti-theft apps
Anti-theft apps offer a wide range of features to locate your device, lock it, and even delete your personal data in case of theft. Some of these apps offer features such as tracking your phone’s location in real time, receiving alerts when the device is outside a defined area, and even recording photos or videos from the device’s front camera to identify potential thieves. Using an anti-theft app is a simple and effective way to create additional layers of security for your device and protect yourself against potential theft.
Do More With Device Protection
As you can see, there are many ways to protect your smartphone from theft. If you want to stay connected and do more with device protection when you need it, choose M-KOPA Smartphones. With M-KOPA smartphones, you can enjoy more value-added services like affordable data and health cover, and even get a replacement for a stolen phone.
Need further details on how to own your smartphone with M-KOPA? Reach us via our contact form or send a direct message.
.svg)
