The national Crime Survey is considered to be more accurate than police crime statistics since it takes into account unreported crimes. Police statistics can show decreasing crime that is really an increasing reluctance to report the crime. The Office for National Statistics gathers its data from personal interviews.
One of the key results of this latest survey (2011/2012) is that while the ratio of thefts to owners is static, the actual number of thefts is increasing simply because more people now own a mobile phone. In 2010/2011, 797,000 phones were stolen in England and Wales. This rose to 826,000 in 2011/2012.
The most victimized age range is between 10 and 24 years, where the ratio is double the average at 4%. More specifically, young women between 18 and 24 are the most likely victims, with 5% having had a phone stolen during the last year. “The increase in the volume of mobile phones stolen in incidents of personal theft,” says the survey, “is likely to reflect both their increased value and desirability to thieves and the fact that more people are carrying high-value phones on their person.”
The problem for the victim, however, isn’t merely the monetary value of the device. Get Safe Online’s research shows that 11% of people store their passwords on their phone, 9% store their bank details, and 32% are permanently logged into social networking sites. Despite this, 48% of phone owners don’t use password or PIN protection on their devices. It is this combination of high-level personal data and low-level security that concerns Pat Carroll, CEO of fraud prevention specialist ValidSoft. “When you combine [the lack of security] with the high level of personal data we store on our smartphones and the number of phones reported stolen each year, one can start to get an appreciation for the level of personal risk,” he said.
Get Safe Online is stressing its ‘top tips’ for limiting the impact of a mobile theft. First and foremost is to protect it with a password or PIN. Then, it says, “Type *#06# into your handset to get the IMEI number, and make a note of it to enable reporting if stolen.” (The IMEI number is a unique 15-digit identifier associated with every telephony-enabled mobile device.)
Next, register the device on the Immobilise National Property Register – if the police recover it, you may get it back. And insure it, so you at least have a chance of recovering the monetary value.
On the device itself, limit the amount of data you store, never store passwords, install a reputable app (probably best not to side-load) that will allow you to trace the device in case of loss or theft, and, says Get Safe Online, “If your device has GPS or a built in location service do not add your home address as an obvious favorite or bookmark so that it cannot be discovered by a thief.”
Finally, “If you do lose your phone remember to immediately change the passwords for all your apps and online accounts.”