What Are The Risks Of A Lost Or Stolen Mobile Device?

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you lost your mobile phone? These days we rely on our mobile phones more than ever. For a lot of us, it can also be a nightmare if it’s lost, stolen or hacked, especially since today it’s become our most personal computer,

But despite the fact that 1/2 of of us would rather lose our wallet than our mobile phone, only 4% of us have taken steps to protect our mobile device with security.

For most of us, our first reaction when we lose our wallet is I have to cancel my credits cards, get a new license, etc. When we lose our phones, we think about the pain and cost of replacing the device. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

We don’t realize that our photos, emails, text messages and our apps can be an open door for thieves into our personal information, privacy and financial accounts.

And the time to replace your smartphone and its contents can consume as much as 18 hours of your life.

Mobile devices are on the move, meaning they can more easily be lost or stolen and their screens and keyboards are easier targets for “over the shoulder” browsing.

Take time to protect your mobile device. Here’s some tips to keep your mobile safe:

•     Never leave your phone unattended in a public place
•     Put a password on your mobile and set it to auto-lock after a certain period of time.
•     If you use online banking and shopping sites, always log out and don’t select the “remember me” function
•     Use mobile device protection that provides anti-theft which can backup and restore the information on your phone, as well as remotely locate it and wipe data in the case of loss or theft, as well as antivirus and web and app protection.

By Robert Siciliano

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Evangelist to McAfee. Watch him discussing information he found on used electronic devices YouTube. (Disclosures)

Phisher Use Olympic Lottery Scams For Summer Games

Fishing, of course, is the sport of tossing a baited hook into the water and then patiently waiting for a fish to bite.

Phishing is similar. The cybercrook sends out spam email and waits for a victim to take the bait. A phisher can send thousands of phishing emails a day, and eventually some people will get hooked.

Phishing is a multi-billion dollar business. Unlike the ongoing depletion of the ocean’s fisheries, there are still plenty of people out there to phish. Today, many victims in developing nations like India and China have only recently gotten broad­band Internet access, and are considered fresh meat by the bad guys.

Phishers follow a similar editorial calendar as newspaper and magazine editors, coordinating their attacks around holidays and the change in seasons. They capitalize on significant events and natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, the Japanese Tsunami and the swine flu. On their radar right now is the 2012 Olympics.

Francois Paget, Senior Threat Researcher at McAfee discovered numerous emails combining scam lotteries and the Olympics. Like chocolate and peanut butter these two topics go great together.

“These mails inform the recipients that they have won a substantial amount of money. After contacting the lottery manager, the victims of these rip-offs will be asked to pay “processing fees” or “transfer charges” so that the winnings can be distributed. In some cases, the organizers ask for a copy of the winner’s passport, national ID, or driver’s license. With that personal information compromised, future identity theft activities are guaranteed.”

Awareness is the best way to avoid being scammed. Knowing what the bad guys are doing to hook their victims and learning not getting caught is your best protection. Here’s  a video that explains what phishing is and how to detect if an email is phishing. You should also be aware of phishing when reading emails on our mobile phone. For more information about mobile phishing, read this.

•     Invest in security software that includes antivirus, anti-spyware anti-phishing and a firewall.
•     Never click links in the body of an email unless you are 100% sure it’s legit
•     Don’t go snooping around your spam folders opening emails that look suspect.
•     When in doubt, delete. Like mom said, if it’s too good to be true, it is.

By Robert Siciliano

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. See him discussing identity theft on YouTube.