Statistics show that around 88% of us don’t leave home without our mobile phones. Clearly reliance on these devices means that losing one can be a real nightmare.

Increasinglly compact and lightweight mobile phones mean that they are easily lost, misplaced or fall out of pockets. In 2008 around 200,000 mobile phones went into washing machines, around 600,000 were dropped down the loo and 55,000 were left in the back of taxis.

Then there is the growing risk of theft. In the UK alone more than 2 million mobile phones are stolen each year. This equates to around one every 12 seconds and this figure is on the increase.

If a mobile phone is lost there is the initial financial headache of replacement. But there may also be phone bills accrued by a thief between the time the phone was stolen and the time it was eventually disabled. Then there is the impact of lost data, especially contacts.

It has been estimated that as few as only 1 in 5 mobile phone users bother to back up their SIM card data to a separate secure storage device. Even though most modern mobile phones come with software that makes it simple to transfer data from a phones SIM card to a computer relatively few people do this routinely.

So what steps can we take to help keep hold of our mobile phones?

1. Firstly, don’t make it easy for a thief to steal your mobile phone. Never ever leave your phone unattended in your car and always store it securely.
2. Make certain you record the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of your phone. This is a number that is unique to every mobile phone and can be used to disable a phone if it’s been lost or stolen.
3. You might like to configure your phone to only work after you have entered a PIN. While it can be a nuisance to have to enter a PIN each time you want to use your phone this simple step will stop a thief from running up significant call charges on your account.
4. Another simple step is to switch your phone to vibrate mode when in a busy public place in order to ensure that nobody else is alerted when your phone rings.
5. You might like to engrave your name and your car registration details onto your mobile phone and its battery. Alternatively there are systems for attaching unique serial number stickers (as provided by trackitback.com) to your phone which will help identify your phone if it is lost or stolen.
6. It is worthwhile establishing a backup routine, copying your valuable SIM card data to secure storage location as often as possible. As a rule, if you are adding new contacts and appointments or notes to your phone every day you really should be backing up your phone data every day.
7. Finally, make certain that you have some mobile phone insurance that provides the protection that you need. There are differences between various mobile phone insurance policies so be certain to read the small print and ensure that the policy suits your requirements.

Hopefully, by following these simple steps you will avoid becoming one of the lost or stolen mobile phone statistics.

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You may also like to protect your income with income protection and don’t overlook the need to protect other devices with some useful gadget insurance.

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