What to do to protect your data if your cell phone is stolen

Brazil is experiencing an increase in cell phone robberies and thefts. In the state of São Paulo alone, between January and August 2021, almost 160,000 devices were subtracted, according to the Public Security Secretariat (SSP). The São Paulo police recorded 86,962 smartphone robberies with aggression or use of weapons, and 72,763 thousand thefts, which are the cases in which the owner does not notice the removal of the device.

Along with these numbers, there was the growth of the PIX, which completed a year in November 2021. With more dynamic banking transactions that cannot be undone, criminals seek to use their own cell phones as tools to obtain money from the user, leading to lightning kidnappings, for example.

To find out how to act in these cases, the CNN he sought out specialists to teach him how to protect himself with his personal data and how to avoid further loss, in addition to material, in cases of theft or robbery.

Cell phone theft is a crime that has gained new tactics, according to Fabio Assolini, senior security analyst at Kaspersky. For the expert, crime has become more dangerous, because it is now more profitable.

“The big goal of thieves now is to get the device unlocked to use legitimate functions in order to recover the passwords of financial apps to perform fraud (theft)”, he analyzes. The expert believes that, from the point of view of public safety, there are few options to curb this practice.

Virtual motor racing driver and YouTuber Richard Max was robbed in a mall in São Paulo after returning from training at the Formula 1 GP Brazil: “I was at Shopping Ibirapuera, looking for a dress for my daughter, and inside one of the stores , I had a bump, without meaning to, and didn’t even realize it at the time. When I entered another store, I went to get my cell phone and it was no longer in my pocket, it was already gone. I took my wife’s cell phone to call, it was already in voicemail, I sent a message on Whatsapp and only one scratch appeared. I realized that it was already turned off”, he says.

In such cases, the Kaspersky expert said that the best thing to do is to avoid facilitating criminals’ access to personal and financial data. “I recommend that people start protecting it correctly, avoiding storing passwords in notepads or in email, configuring the double authentication options in all online services and relying on a security solution on the device”.

That’s what the victim of the mall robbery did. Max said he didn’t care about his data: “I use every security feature available to prevent this sort of thing. On accounts that have this feature, I don’t use anything that has SMS authentication. In Google accounts, I don’t use the feature of tapping the smartphone to grant access”, he comments. It even has an authentication-only device that stays at home, along with a physical security key.

Richard’s behavior, however, is an exception. According to Kaspersky, Brazilians in general have little concern for their digital security. According to a survey by the company, 53% of the population saves their email password in their browser, while 44% of Brazilians share their cell phone password. A previous survey by the company itself shows that the password most used by Brazilians was the numerical sequence 123456.

What to do after losing your cell phone?

But what to do in practice in case of robbery or theft? “The first step is to contact the cell phone operator to block the chip and the e-mail connected to the device, so that no one can activate this device. The second step is to contact financial institutions and temporarily block all transactions (such as cards and Pix) and the third to remove all data from the device remotely via ICloud or Google dashboard. Finally, it is important to change all passwords and disconnect all devices that are authenticated on social networks, such as Facebook and WhatsApp”, explains Thiago Bordini, Head of Cyber ​​Threat Intelligence Axur, a digital security company, which also recommends avoiding leaving passwords saved on the device.

Criminals may even attempt scams using your personal and financial information. Therefore, Bordini also recommends monitoring any and all financial transactions, verifying that the institutions’ authentication factor has not been changed and/or if other data has been entered as a recovery factor. “Also, always update all passwords, regardless of whether they have been accessed or not and enable the second factor of authentication for all logins.”

Based on the experts’ speeches, check out a step-by-step guide to stay safe digitally.

Be careful

• Use complex passwords that mix uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols
• Avoid leaving passwords saved on the device, in a notepad or email
• Avoid password completion
• If possible, use external authentication keys
• Configure two-factor authentication; if possible, avoid the second layer being via SMS
• Do not store bank card images

Was it stolen or stolen?

• Erase mobile data. If it’s Android, access the address com/find, enter login and password and click “wipe device”. For iPhone, icloud.com, enter login and password, locate iphone and click “wipe device”.
• Block the IMEI, which is the mobile identification number. Call your operator, report the incident and request the IMEI block to paralyze the device functions
• Call the bank and report the incident. Also ask to remove the cards saved in the device.
• Change passwords to access Google or Apple ID
• Disconnect accounts from apps installed on mobile
• Register a police report