When it comes to cell phone security, there’s just a lot of stuff out there that honest people don’t think about.  If your husband text messaged you from the bank to ask for your checking account number or PIN, would you text back to him?  If your answer was yes, suppose your husband set his phone down on a table in the restaurant where he was having lunch. Suppose that some unscrupulous son-of-a-gun picked up the phone, looked in the address book and found his wife’s contact information, and texted her for banking account access. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

Okay here’s another one. You are so proud of that new GPS feature on your phone. The first night that you have it, you enter personal information on the location of every family member and friend you have. Don’t forget to include your own information. After all it’s important to know how to get home. Now suppose that same unscrupulous son-of-a-gun wishes to access all of that information and use it to visit places where he thinks he might gain access to any number of items that he could pawn or sell, and that you and your family will never see again.

These examples are not far-fetched. They are, in fact, paraphrases of actual police reports. So how do you stop these low-lifes from accessing your information?

The answer to cell phone security is so simple, and yet more than 80% of people who own cell phones do not avail themselves of security built into the phone itself.  Virtually every phone available today is equipped with a password lock.  If you employ that password, no one can get into your phone until they enter a sequence of numbers and letters that you have set up.  Program the phone now, while you’re thinking about it. 

Next, go through your contact list and make sure that there are no charming nicknames and relationship information attached to contact. Don’t give a stranger easy access to intimate information about the people that you love.

If somebody texts you asking for specific personal information, don’t just text back blindly.  Confirm the text — ask a question, give them a call, but don’t just presume that the person who texts you really is who they say they are.  If you get a text from someone asking you to meet them, please please please verify that the message actually came from them. If you can’t verify, don’t go.

Use your head. There are lots of people out there who are just as honest as you are and there are a few who are not. By all means, take advantage of all of the features your cell phone has to offer, but make cell phone security a priority when you do.