Don’t Be Stupid With An Unwanted Smartphone

Your smartphone knows all about you. Before giving it away or recycling your smartphone, make sure that you take the proper precautions so that your smartphone doesn’t spill your secrets to the world.

In a Fox Business article by Michael Estrin entitled, “Don’t be Stupid With an Unwanted Smartphone,” OlenderFeldman LLP provides insight on the importance of wiping all data before selling or donating an old phone. Some excerpts follow, and be sure to read the entire thing:

If an identity thief gets hold of data on your old smartphone, the risks could be dire, according to Aaron Messing, a lawyer specializing in technology and information privacy issues.

“It’s important for consumers to realize that their smartphones are actually mini-computers that contain all types of sensitive personal and financial information,” says Messing, who’s with the Olender Feldman firm in Union, N.J.

That information typically includes, but is not limited to: phone contacts, calendars, emails, text messages, pictures and a browser history. Increasingly, many phones also contain everything you’d have in your wallet — and more — as more consumers are using mobile banking and payment apps.

If just a little information gets into the wrong hands, it can go a very long way because each piece of compromised data is a clue toward finding more, says Messing.

“Email is especially sensitive because access to email will often give (a thief the) ability to reset passwords, which can be used to access financial and health information,” says Messing. Since many consumers ignore warnings not to use the same password for numerous sites, the risk could easily be multiplied very quickly.

So far, there haven’t been many reported incidents of identity theft using data pulled from discarded smartphones. But it’s a problem that Messing worries might rise as smartphone usage grows. A recent study by Pew Internet found that nearly half of Americans now own smartphones, up from 35% last year.