We almost all have smartphones.
They provide convenience for many functions in your hands. In fact, modern smartphones
are really handheld computers that can, send and receive emails, send and
receive text messages, alert you to news headlines and weather alerts, take
pictures, look up information, stream live video, play games, make purchases, and
by the way, make phone calls.
As a result, these portable
computers hold a wealth of personal information like names, phone numbers,
addresses of our friends and relatives, our financial account information, and
other personal information.
When it comes time to get a new
smartphone, when your old one breaks or its time to get the latest more
powerful model, don’t discard or give away that old device before you have
taken steps to protect your personal information.
The Identity Theft Resource
Center (ITRC) recommends,
·
Save any text messages that you want to keep and
make a backup of your contacts list. Once you have saved this information to
your new smartphone, delete this information from your old phone. This should
be especially easy if you can keep your information in the “cloud.”
·
Remove any social media apps or other apps that
might have your sensitive data such as Dropbox, banking apps, or shopping apps.
·
Check your old smartphone for any extra files
that it might be storing by hooking it up to your computer and looking at its
file system. This might be a good time to save any pictures on your smartphone
and then remove them from your phone.
ITRC also recommends that once
you have taken the above steps, do a factory reset to the phone’s original
status. That way you ensure that whoever gets possession of the smartphone in
the future does not have your sensitive, personal information.
The Identity Theft Resource
Center:
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