There’s something terribly unnerving about having your smartphone stolen or lost.
“It’s very daunting when you realize that we leave an enormous trail of breadcrumbs [on our phones],” says Adam Levin, chairman and founder of IDT911, an identify theft solutions company, and author of “Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves.”
If your phone falls into the wrong hands, a smart thief can gain access to your professional, social and other personal information.
Even more worrying: A savvy saboteur may be able to hack into your bank accounts, mobile payment apps and credit card applications. Once inside, he could drain your bank accounts, use them for a shopping spree or even steal your identity, wreaking havoc on your credit and finances.
[See: 10 Ways to Protect Yourself From Online Fraud.]
Still, the potential downsides aren’t enough to prevent millions of Americans from losing their phones each year. In fact, in 2014, 2.1 million Americans had their phones stolen, according to the most recent survey from the Consumer Reports National Research Center.
“In many cases, [having your phone stolen] can be worse than losing a laptop or a tablet because you can impersonate someone when you have their phone,” says John Sileo, cybersecurity expert with Sileo.com.
Here’s how to protect your financial life when your phone is lost or stolen.
Prepare, prepare, prepare. If you have your phone with you right now, make sure that you have the appropriate barriers already in place. Some simple precautionary tasks can save you oodles of angst down the road, experts say.
A strong password locking the home screen is “the most important thing, bar none,” says Michael Murray, vice president of security research for Lookout, a mobile security company.
Make sure that you choose something more creative than “1234” or “password” to truly lock out potential scammers, experts say.
While the physical phone might be a goner, shielding your home screen from potential thieves and scammers is the most crucial step to protecting your information. “Once somebody has your phone, and it’s unlocked, you’re in trouble,” Murray says.
Despite how crucial this security method is, only 46 percent of people set a screen lock with a four-digit PIN, password or fingerprint, according to the Consumer Reports study. Some newer phones, including iPhones using iOS9 require six-digit passcodes, which are harder to crack, and can revert the phone to its factory settings after 10 failed login attempts.
If you can add encryption, which scrambles the information stored on it, consider enabling it to add an extra level of protection, Levin says.
[See: 10 Warning Signs of Identity Theft.]
Alert the authorities. Report stolen devices to the police and let your cell phone carrier know that your phone is missing, says James Nguyen, product manager of mobile applications at Norton by Symantec, in an email statement.
“Your carrier may suggest that you do not deactivate the device until you are sure you won’t be able to recover it,” Nguyen says. “This is because once you deactivate your device, you won’t be able to communicate with it over cellular coverage.”
Keep an eye on your accounts, Nguyen suggests. Alert your bank if something looks off with your credit or banking statements.
Do damage control. Go about changing passwords for the apps and websites stored on your phone, especially for your bank accounts and mobile payment apps.
Don’t forget to swap out your email account password, experts say. Here’s why: Robbers may opt to reset the passwords for your banks, payment apps and other financial accounts by sending password change requests to your email. If your email isn’t locked by a password on your phone, it’s a clever way to gain access to your financials, even if crooks can’t guess your banking login.
Your email may also host a treasure trove of information, from your birthday to your Social Security number. That’s gold to someone aiming to steal your identity.
After changing your password, watch your email like a hawk to scout out suspicious password change requests, Murray says.
[See: 9 Financial Tools You Should Be Using.]
Remote lock and wipe your account. Many phones, including Apple and Android devices, give access to “Find My Phone” services online. Once you fire those up, you can use location services on your computer to track your phone, lock it remotely, make it ring or even wipe it clean.
“If you know where it is and where it seems to be going off to, you have ability to remotely wipe data on your phone,” Levin says. “That will save you a lot of heartache.”
A remote wipe is one of the best last-ditch options if your phone is likely headed for oblivion. But if you routinely back up the images and videos on your phone, erasing the information housed on it won’t be quite so painful, experts note.
At the end of the day, the best defense is a good offense, experts say. Protect your phone from financial spies by creating strong passwords and beefing up security. Says Sileo: “The number one way you can be protective of it is just being obsessive about physical possession.”
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Phone Swiped? Here’s How to Protect Your Financial Information originally appeared on usnews.com
