Your favorite smartphone might get lost or stolen. However, you can avoid a total disaster if you prepare ahead of time. Here are some tips to help you to deal with the nightmares.
The first thing to do when you fail to find your phone is to confirm whether it's actually been stolen, or you've merely misplaced it. In the case of misplacement, you can track down your phone with the help of applications available on all platforms such as iOS, Android, Window,s or Symbian. These applications are programmed to access your phone’s security system remotely. By accessing any computer and logging in to the website of the application, you can make your phone ring loudly, display any information, lock your phone, or even completely erase all data, if required. However, for this idea to work, you must set up your account and application beforehand.
For ease of use, we store sensitive information in our smartphones such as credit/debit card details and private messages. Therefore it's essential to set strong account passwords and change them regularly so that if someone does steal or acquire your smartphone they can't access your important data. Also, choose a combination of letters and numbers that are difficult to guess (not your date of birth or obvious consecutive numbers like 123456) to make it more secure.
Inform your network provider immediately after losing your phone. This will allow them to block calls and messages as well as transactions carried out using your phone numbers. It will also prevent any unauthorized transactions made using your debit cards and credit cards, which require an OTP (one-time password) sent to your registered mobile number for any successful transaction.
To be honest, there's no guarantee that lodging a police complaint will help you get your phone back -- but, there are secondary benefits of lodging a complaint in case the thief attempts to use your financial information to make a fraudulent purchase using your account information. In this event, possessing a police report will prove useful.
If your phone is stolen, you also lose your SIM cards containing contacts of your friends, relatives and colleagues and, once you lose them, it can be very difficult to get back in touch. If the SIM card is registered in your name, then you can apply for a replacement SIM card from your network provider by submitting your documents such as your Qatar ID.
Cloud storage is very useful whether your phone is lost or not. It offers the owner virtual storage to upload, manage, and download all types of files such as documents, multimedia files, and contacts. There are many popular file hosting websites such as Dropbox and Google Drive where you can upload copies of your files. So a constant backup of all your important files to a Cloud account is vital to help you access that information even if your phone is missing.
The easiest way to stop a thief running up call charges is to make your phone's service impossible to use. Many of us think that the screen lock does this but that only protects the actual physical phone and leaves the SIM inside exposed. By placing a PIN code on the actual SIM itself via the security settings on the phone, the owner’s credit can’t be accessed even if the SIM is put into another phone. The drawback to this measure is that you must remember and enter this PIN every time you switch on, but it’s a simple preventative measure that takes seconds and may save you money and stress in the future.
These tips will prove to be handy if your phone gets lost or stolen, but remember the old saying: 'Prevention is better than cure'. So, take the preventative measures listed above now, and avoid stress and hassle in the future.
Have you ever lost your phone? Share your experience in the comment section below. Also, don't forget to like and share this article!
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