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![\"92_shopping_apps.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/92_shopping_apps.jpg\")
The explosion in smartphone use has put the Internet in the palms of consumers\u2019 hands. Consumers use smartphones every day; whether it is for work, to pay their bills, or to find out who \u201cthat guy\u201d from \u201cthat movie\u201d is. Now imagine that little device vanishes. Might someone use the personal and private information on your phone against you?<\/p>\n
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This is a fear that too many people are facing. Smartphone theft in the United States is increasing at an alarming rate. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in New York City alone smartphone thefts increased 40 percent in just one year. In other cities the problem is even more dire. In San Francisco, about half of all robberies involved mobile phones and nationwide one in every three robberies involve a stolen cell phone. In total, 1.6 million Americans had a handheld device stolen last year. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon has called smartphone theft, \u201ca national epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n
High demand for stolen smartphones on the black market is fueling this trend. A typical stolen iPhone can be sold on the street for around $200. However, many stolen smartphones are sold internationally for even more money. According to the California Department of Justice, a stolen iPhone can sell for upwards of $2,000 in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
In 2012, former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, in collaboration with major police department chiefs, wireless companies, cell phone manufacturers, and members of Congress, launched a broad initiative to address the increase in smartphone thefts. The project\u2019s two major goals were to build a national database to prevent the use of stolen cellphones and to educate consumers about how to better protect their smartphone.<\/p>\n
So far, the initiative has proved to be a great success. Many U.S. wireless companies have set up stolen phone databases that will allow them to see if a phone, reported stolen, is reactivated and can then prohibit it from being used on their network. Many smartphone manufacturers have also taken steps to improve security. For example, Apple\u2019s iOS7 mobile operating system includes a \u201cFind My iPhone\u201d app and requires the user to log in before he or she can do anything with the lost\/stolen device. Also, Samsung\u2019s Galaxy S4 smartphone customers, can purchase a LoJack system, which is very difficult for thieves to remove without damaging the phone.<\/p>\n
While there is no guaranteed way to protect your smartphone from theft, there are several tips consumers can use to better safeguard their devices. These include:<\/p>\n
More information about protecting your smartphone:<\/strong><\/p>\n Federal Communications Commission advice The explosion in smartphone use has put the Internet in the palms of consumers\u2019 hands. Consumers use smartphones every day; whether it is for work, to pay their bills, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1984"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14062,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984\/revisions\/14062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a>Helpful information from the wireless industry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"