Your smartphone is a treasure trove of personal data that could have disastrous consequences if it fell into the hands of scammers. Fortunately, taking a few precautions can help you keep your identity and privacy secure.
Lock it up.
The easiest step to take is to lock your phone with a passcode that isn’t easily guessed like a birthday, anniversary, or the same number multiple times.
Secure your apps.
Many apps contain sensitive information making it imperative that you use a unique password for each app. In addition to that, you should add multi-factor authentication. Download a verified authenticator app such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, or 2FAS, then link your other apps to the authenticator. This will require you to use a time-based one-time password to access the app.
Use only trusted sources.
Never click on links for apps within unsolicited emails or text messages. Only download apps from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.
Update software when available.
Most smartphone updates include a security patch. Set your phone to install updates automatically to reduce your vulnerability.
Remove unused apps and limit permissions on the rest.
Older apps you no longer use may use older software and may have security issues. Remove them from your phone. For the remaining apps, limit permissions to prevent the apps from collecting personal data. Click here for instructions to limit app permissions on your iPhone or here for your Android.
Watch out for Wi-Fi.
Free public Wi-Fi attracts fraudsters and scammers. Avoid using it if possible. However, if you must use free public Wi-Fi, set up a virtual private network (VPN) to keep your privacy protected.
Lost your phone?
iPhone users can remotely lock their phone using “Lost Mode” from icloud.com. Android users can use “Remote Lock” from another device using your phone number and a security challenge. You can also remotely erase your phone’s data after confirming it’s backed up on the cloud. You can also track the location of a lost or stolen phone, use “Find Devices” for iPhone or “Find My Device” for Android.
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