The Answer May Surprise You
People do more with their cell phones than they ever did before—including banking, shopping, and paying bills. So your cell phone holds a plethora of personal information and is a gateway to all your confidential data, including your bank and credit card accounts, insurance information, email and more. And while many of us understand the risk of throwing away old computer hard drives, tablets and similar devices, cell phones are often not considered to pose a danger. But the reality is, your cell phone could be even more dangerous when it comes to ID theft, fraud and financial breaches. Take a look:
You Add & Store More Information on Your Phone Daily
Think about what you do with your phone on a daily basis–taking and sharing pics on social media, texting with friends and family, email, business calls and meetings–this all in addition to the stuff you already do, like paying bills, shopping, etc. All that information is stored on your phone. In essence, an ID thief can not only see your whereabouts, your likes and dislikes and your connections; they can track you and your daily routine. Today’s thieves are savvy enough to use just a tiny bit of your information to steal your identity, your money and even engage you in a social engineering scheme.
Public WiFi and Remote Working Can Be Risky
Over the last few years, remote working has increased exponentially, and more and more people are engaging with their cell phones utilizing public Wifi. While a lot of companies have taken measures to secure their network for remote employees, the same cannot be said for personal cell phones. It’s important to know that if you’re using Wifi at Starbucks, the mall, the public library or anywhere else, your information is out there for a hacker to steal.
Your Cell Phone Can Get Lost or Stolen
We’ve all misplaced our cell phones at one time or another, but many people have had their cell phones stolen or have lost them completely. The danger of this happening is not just the obvious loss of the phone, but also the fact that your entire life is on that phone. A strong password can help if the thief is not a hacker and simply wants your phone–but the reality is, if anyone can get into your phone they now have access to all your personal information.
Trading in Your Old Cell Phone Is Not Always Secure
A lot of big box stores offer trade-ins when you’re ready to upgrade–and in most cases this can be a secure process. These types of stores typically wipe the phone clean and do a factory reset to delete all the data that’s stored on the device. But selling your old phone online can be much riskier and put you in danger and a factory reset or deleting all your data on your own may not be enough.
Secure Destruction is Key to Protecting Yourself
When you’re ready to upgrade or you’re replacing your old cell phone, the top way to protect yourself and your identity is to have it securely and permanently destroyed. Just like old hard drives, tablets and other devices, cell phones can be shredded.
All Points Mobile Shredding provides cell phone destruction to customers across South Florida. Our shredding trucks are equipped with industrial shredding machinery that can destroy devices quickly and efficiently–and provide you with a certificate of destruction for further peace of mind. Give us a call today or fill out this form to get more information.
