Archive for November 2, 2012

FTC Cellphone PROTECT Initiative

Posted: November 2, 2012 by IntentionalPrivacy in Cell phone, Identity theft
Tags: , ,

The FTC’s new program to help combat cellphone theft started on November 1, 2012. The major carriers–AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon–have launched databases for stolen smart phones, so when a cellphone user reports that their cellphone has been stolen, that device will not be able to be used again. http://www.fcc.gov/document/announcement-new-initiatives-combat-smartphone-and-data-theft

The FTC advises cellphone users to lock their phones with a passcode to protect any information on their phone, use software to help locate lost devices and either install a remote-wipe application or enable the feature to remotely wipe a stolen device.

If your cellphone has been provided by your employer, look to them for guidance first.

For more information on how to better protect your cellphone, your provider should provide more information. Search their website using keywords such as “lock,” “locate device,” and “remote wipe.”

Here are a couple articles on what to do:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352755,00.asp

http://forums.att.com/t5/Apple-Community-Discussion/How-to-SECURE-YOUR-new-iPhone-4S-PLEASE-TAKE-THE-TIME-TO-READ-IT/td-p/3210869

I use Prey at https://preyproject.com/ to track my Mac and Windows laptops. Prey will also work for iOS, Linux, Ubuntu, and Android. While I don’t currently use a smart phone, when I had an Android (company supplied), I tried the Remote Wipe feature provided by our IT department and it worked perfectly. I also used the free version of Lookout for Android.