Smartphones and tracking apps have become a good way of tracing criminals’ whereabouts or following them to their hideouts.
In order for stolen cellphones to be tracked successfully, it is very important that the thief is not alerted in the process.
With the various active WhatsApp and BBM security groups, this has become much harder as crimes are reported quickly and effectively. Community members are urged to report a stolen phone to the police as well as the administrators of social groups as soon as possible in order to stay a step ahead of thieves.
It is advisable to keep a small address book at hand with emergency contacts and numbers of relatives and friends, work as well as social-media group administrators.
Your service provider should also be notified as they can be instrumental in either terminating the line or helping to track the network activity. Each network has its own special call centre which will help you decide the best course of action in your situation.
Many service providers and phone suppliers also recommend that users install apps and antivirus programmes which have anti-theft features. Popular ones include Avast Mobile, Kaspersky Mobile Security and AVG Anti-Virus.
These can allow you to remotely delete your data, which prevents thieves from gaining access to sensitive information, blocking access to unauthorised persons or to locate the device on a map.
Android device manager, an application for Android smartphones, can help you reset the PIN to lock your device and erase all the data from your phone.
Remember never to store passwords, PINs, account numbers or other sensitive data on your phone and to regularly backup your information.
