Save Your Mobile Phone From Theft!

[Dashken]

Mobile phone theft is really rampant these days. They are so easy to steal and sell that many thieves now specialize in stealing them.

The sad fact is we make it easy for thieves to steal our mobile phones. It is really up to us to save our phones from these thieves. All we need is some common sense and these useful tips.

Here's a quote from the article :-

"A mobile phone is no longer a luxury item for most people today. In fact, it is a necessity for many. Someone once said to me, ‘You may take my life, but not my phone!’ Many of us have become very reliant on our mobile phones. Some of us don’t even have land-line phones anymore!"

Link : Save Your Mobile Phone From Theft!

[clk]

Indeed, it'll bring loads of losses once a mobile is stolen, especially the important information in it, specifically scheduled reminders or so.. Many of us often don't back it up, due to the reasons of: doesn't know how to do so, no time, lazy.. Keeping it in the briefcase may be dangerous as well though, if u dont keep an eye on it. I know of one fellow who kept his laptop in his luggage and was careless leaving it aside.. then stolen..
We tend to put the mobile on the table once we are seated because uncomfortable as the article mentioned, and also because of the perceived theory that mobile gives out dangerous emissions and not good to keep close to the body all the time.

[karhoe]

Getting a bluetooth headset, I'm thinking that bluetooth are even easier to steal, the device is just hanging on your phone, some are so comfortable wearing, you wont even realize you are wearing, so its aso quite an easy target

[Dashken]

Well, if bluetooth is stolen, your mobile phone is still intact and with you right? Which one would you rather get stolen, your bluetooth or your mobile phone?

[marc]

Yeah man.

If you are a thief, which would you rather steal?
A Bluetooth headset or a mobile phone that is in the hands of a careless person?

Cheers.

[Adrian Wong]

A few years ago, I read that engineers had developed a self-destructable chip for mobile phones. Once a phone has been stolen, the owner can instruct the network to send a signal to the chip and have it melt down the circuitry, destroying the phone.

Doesn't do much for retrieving your phone, but it safeguards your data and helps reduce the incidence of phone theft. If all the phones they snatch self-destruct, no one would steal mobile phones.

But I wonder if the chip in already being used....

[marc]

Yeah. I read about it a long time ago too.

I guess such things scare people.

Just imagine if it malfunctions.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by marc

Yeah. I read about it a long time ago too.

I guess such things scare people.

Just imagine if it malfunctions.

Hehe.. Well, I believe only the telcos can set it off, and only then with authorization from the owner of the phone.

[marc]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Hehe.. Well, I believe only the telcos can set it off, and only then with authorization from the owner of the phone.

Hmm. Then it is quite similar to the disabling-feature that most telcos use. But this only removes functionality of the phone within the local networks. If the phone is shipped to another country, it can be used again. However, the self-destruct chip works everywhere since it makes the phone completely dead.

I think Samsung is the first one in Malaysia to implement the disabling-feature that is tied to all Malaysian telcos. Saw this feature in plenty of newspaper ads.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by marc

Hmm. Then it is quite similar to the disabling-feature that most telcos use. But this only removes functionality of the phone within the local networks. If the phone is shipped to another country, it can be used again. However, the self-destruct chip works everywhere since it makes the phone completely dead.

I think Samsung is the first one in Malaysia to implement the disabling-feature that is tied to all Malaysian telcos. Saw this feature in plenty of newspaper ads.

It's about time, although I still feel the self-destruct chip would work better, especially if telcos can send the signal worldwide. So, no matter where the thieves ship the stolen phones, they will never be usable.