Apparently, your stolen phone is just the start of your problems.

[digger70]

Shouldn't be a problem When you Not Use your phone for Banking.

No banking Apps  and No Internet Banking on My Phone. 

No  Sync on my phone to Other Phones or computers or Laptops or any Accounts.

[impulse]

6 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Shouldn't be a problem When you Not Use your phone for Banking.

No banking Apps  and No Internet Banking on My Phone. 

No  Sync on my phone to Other Phones or computers or Laptops or any Accounts.

 

My biggest vulnerability (I think) is the Amazon, EBay, Orbitz and Hotels.com accounts that, by necessity (or is it just convenience?), have my debit card numbers attached.  Used occasionally to buy goodies, onward tickets, and to book rooms on the road.

 

Edit:  And I'd add the emails from my bank, my car insurance company, the gub'ment (SS office), my health care provider and...and...  

 

Edited February 7 by impulse

[digger70]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

 

My biggest vulnerability (I think) is the Amazon, EBay, Orbitz and Hotels.com accounts that, by necessity (or is it just convenience?), have my debit card numbers attached.  Used occasionally to buy goodies, onward tickets, and to book rooms on the road.

 

Wow, thats  a real problem  If/when you Lose your Phone .

For me if i lose mine ,No probs I get a new one . My Phone is Only a Phone to Talk to People. 

All other imported stuff is done at home on laptop.

 

 

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Wow, thats  a real problem  If/when you Lose your Phone .

For me if i lose mine ,No probs I get a new one . My Phone is Only a Phone to Talk to People. 

All other imported stuff is done at home on laptop.

 

Yup.  Life was a lot simpler when I slept in the same bed every night.

 

[digger70]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

 

Yup.  Life was a lot simpler when I slept in the same bed every night.

 

Yep, for Sure.  😊

[BenStark]

10 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Wow, thats  a real problem  If/when you Lose your Phone .

For me if i lose mine ,No probs I get a new one . My Phone is Only a Phone to Talk to People. 

All other imported stuff is done at home on laptop.

 

 

 

Banks are starting to remove online banking, some banks did already, so soon you may have a need to use the Android app.

 

[impulse]

7 minutes ago, digger70 said:

11 minutes ago, impulse said:

Yup.  Life was a lot simpler when I slept in the same bed every night.

Yep, for Sure.  

 

Along those lines, when I lived in the USA, I kept a couple of Walmart pre-paid debit cards with a few hundred dollars in each account to use on my cell phone and on websites and with vendors I didn't trust.  A few days before a big bill came due, I'd add the funds I needed to pay, for instance,  $900 for auto insurance.   I figured I'd only lose a few hundred $$ if they got stolen or compromised.

 

But with no access to a Walmart to top up, oh well...

 

Edited February 7 by impulse

[Peterphuket]

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Don't you get tired of standing around clapping your hands like that all day?

 

[Irish star]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Valid point...   and the two factor authentication may not be so great as where does it authenticate to ???

 

Authenticator app on our phones !!! 

 

 

The only answers I have for this are 'don't loose your phone' but of course, we know that happens..... so at the very best, do not be complacent with your phone... its a lot more valuable to you than the phone itself is worth.

 

 

So, the two phone solution is an option... and only carry the low-risk phone when socialising etc or in slightly higher risk (of loss) situations... 

 

The issue of course, is... mutlple phones.

I already have two phones.

- My phone (that has everything on it)

- Work Phone (that has 'work only stuff - thats either at work or at home, I never take it out)

 

So, I'd need a 3rd Phone... and use my primary phone for all communications and daily life etc...  and perhaps one banking app with a lower limit (for convenience of daily use)... and have the Banking apps, and e-mails, authenticators etc... 

 

A lot of hassle...   

 

 

 

 

LOSE

[klauskunkel]

 

That's my phone. Go ahead, steal it...

[Chongalulu]

20 hours ago, Dan O said:

Facial isn't even secure as in the past since AI programs have improved. They can clone your image and your voice easily enough to bypass those security features

Fingerprint only authentication is probably better 

[NE1]

On losing your phone , obviously the first thing you do is go to your bank and close your account(s)

and explain why you are doing it.

That should protect your financial side of things.

[zzaa09]

Remember the good old days before the advent of everything about one's existence within the proverbial mobile gadget. 

 

Dumbed down comes to mind.

[Lacessit]

I only transact through a laptop or desktop. There are no financial apps on my phone. I pay using a debit card or cash. The debit card is in a Faraday cage to prevent skimming.

I am starting to think the Arabs have the right idea, when they cut off the right hands of thieves.

[Confuscious]

Any tech-savy mobile phone shop is able to take the memory chip out of your phone and read the contents of the memory chip (there are programs to do that).
Fingerprint, facial scan, etc. are not a guarantee that your information would be safe.
And surely not nowadays where that information could be easily faked with AI.
https://flashfixers.com/recover-data-dead-phone-chip-off-data-recovery/

I "cracked" the memory of the mobile from someone and you would be astonished if you know what was in there.
Even files which had been deleted a years ago were easy to access.

The only way to protect yourself is to go ASAP to your bank and cancel your bank account if your phone is stolen.
Second, avoid storing any information on your phone that could be used against you.

If possible, use a "phone wipe" utility to reset your phone's memory (Google).

Don't forget that your phone is linked to your accounts (Mail, Google, Microsoft, etc.) and it is very easy for a hacker to access this information once your phone gets stolen (saved passwords).

 

[Hokeus]

The WSJ has covered this issue extensively over the last 12 months for iPhones with lots of good advice on security protection in the 3 videos linked below on how to protect the data in your phone from thieves. 

Also, many of the weak iPhone security issues have just been addressed in the latest iOS 17.3 with Apple's new "Stolen Device Protection" features. So everyone should update to iOS 17.3 ASAP and enable this feature under "Face ID & Passcode" settings. 

 

Some more things you can do to secure your personal data straight away; don't store scans of your personal ID documents in the Photos App itself (use a free and secure encrypted cloud service for your sensitive photos like Proton Drive), don't keep any internet banking login information in the iCloud Keychain (use a free, encrypted, stand alone password manager like Proton Pass), lock all text based notes on your phone containing any sensitive information with a separate password (use a password different to your phone unlock password) and, if you have any PDF, Word, or Excel files stored on your phone with sensitive information, then also individually password protect those files too. 

 

https://youtu.be/QUYODQB_2wQ

 

https://youtu.be/tCfb9Wizq9Q

 

https://youtu.be/gi96HKr2vo8

[Lee65]

Imagine - just for kicks - your password manager app was hacked.  That'd bring on another magnitude of problems.

[Dan O]

5 hours ago, Chongalulu said:

Fingerprint only authentication is probably better 

Finger print authentification can be better but there are still ways to scrap your data fairly easily for hackers that have experience 

[captainjackS]

21 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

My bank apps need my fingerprint. I guess that is standard for all of them.

So, they need not only my phone but also the (correct) finger.

Maybe I am mistaken, but as far as I know it is not easy to hack the fingerprint sensor without having a fingerprint from that person.

I agree that finger print sensor is secure in many ways ... but I still use long annoying passwords for everything on my phone and change screen lock pin frequently because : If I am sleeping, drunk, or both, I believe someone could "borrow" my finger to unlock things.

 

[Elkski]

Are these password apps safe?   I also worry about encouraging a finger or hand dismemberment using fingerprint security.  For 

My main bank i input the ID and password from memory.  

Same for credit card and investment accts. 

Amazon is always on with a credit card link.   When traveling i carry a note card in my money belt with some passwords thst i may need like Agoda, airlines, etc.   

Im sure this topic deserves more of my attention. 

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, captainjackS said:

I agree that finger print sensor is secure in many ways ... but I still use long annoying passwords for everything on my phone and change screen lock pin frequently because : If I am sleeping, drunk, or both, I believe someone could "borrow" my finger to unlock things.

 

How often are you drunk like that or sleeping together with anybody who might do that to you?

 

My worst case of drunk was one bottle of whisky, and I still remember it and I know I wouldn't have allowed anybody to use my phone or finger. 

 

But if you prefer passwords, that's fine. 

[john donson]

On 2/6/2024 at 7:50 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

First, someone has to get my phone. And then he must be a real bad guy and a good hacker or know a good hacker. How likely is that?

Personally, I have my phone in my pocket or my hand. I never leave it somewhere on a bar or anything like that.

Who will rob my phone out of my pocket?

Not impossible, but the chance is very low. And then the chance that is it a sophisticated hacker is very low.

So, at least IMHO, this is no problem to worry about.

 

 

what about a home invasion

 

and they forcedly face scan or fingerprint you and withdraw your money to the gang that directly sends it to whatever...

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, john donson said:

what about a home invasion

 

and they forcedly face scan or fingerprint you and withdraw your money to the gang that directly sends it to whatever...

Yeah, sure. Or maybe they drag me out of my Ferrari or something like that. I am sure it will happen latest tomorrow. 😉 

[noobexpat]

Least secure first:

 

1. Using a card

2. Laptop/desktop

3. Phone

4. Tablet (because they usually don't leave your home)

[digger70]

23 hours ago, BenStark said:

 

Banks are starting to remove online banking, some banks did already, so soon you may have a need to use the Android app.

 

Yes I know that they are working on that.

This is  a Ridiculous Idea to do such a thing .

People should be able to choose what they want to use . A phone app or Internet banking on a computer.

 Any smart hacker can Steal/Find your Phone  and you stand to lose your money.

Phone Banking Apps aren't Safe People carry their phones all the time so they can Lose it Anytime.

A Laptop /Computer aren't Lost that easy so they are Much Safer.  

Any device is open to Hackers  even Banks  . 

I like the internet online banking with the one time password to ones phone  that's at the moment the safest .

They have to be pretty good to be able to have ones laptop and phone  and hack them.

[Gottfrid]

On 2/6/2024 at 5:42 PM, richard_smith237 said:

I used to have a coupe of phones - one for the girls I was serious about, another for the girls I was playing with.

Really! Now you showed the exact meaning of serious. 

[noobexpat]

25 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Yes I know that they are working on that.

This is  a Ridiculous Idea to do such a thing .

People should be able to choose what they want to use . A phone app or Internet banking on a computer.

 Any smart hacker can Steal/Find your Phone  and you stand to lose your money.

Phone Banking Apps aren't Safe People carry their phones all the time so they can Lose it Anytime.

A Laptop /Computer aren't Lost that easy so they are Much Safer.  

Any device is open to Hackers  even Banks  . 

I like the internet online banking with the one time password to ones phone  that's at the moment the safest .

They have to be pretty good to be able to have ones laptop and phone  and hack them.

 

Your ideas are wrong.

Most scams are done by people falling for their tricks, not by losing a device. Phishing is number 1 - 99% of fraud i bet.

 

 

[digger70]

20 minutes ago, noobexpat said:

 

Your ideas are wrong.

Most scams are done by people falling for their tricks, not by losing a device. Phishing is number 1 - 99% of fraud i bet.

 

 

You say  That I am wrong.  I say  that I am Right OKAY.

[noobexpat]

50 minutes ago, digger70 said:

You say  That I am wrong.  I say  that I am Right OKAY.

 

Stubborn old men are probably the easiest targets for phishing scams.

 

 

[Photoguy21]

On 2/6/2024 at 5:24 PM, impulse said:

Here's an aspect of cell phone theft that I didn't realize was a thing.  I always chalked it up as one of those hypothetical horror stories.  But apparently, it's happening with some regularity in New York.

 

A "tech guy" would then allegedly hack the stolen phones, access banking and financial apps and drain the accounts, police said. If they ran dry or the owners placed a lock on their money, the stolen phones would then be sent around the country or to Colombia to be reprogrammed and sold.

 

Got me to thinking how much harm a nefarious actor could do me if they stole my phone.  So I'll be pondering some steps to take to wipe non-essential account info from my phone.  (In addition to using cheap phones, which I previously thought shielded me from big losses if someone steals one from me.)

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-masterminds-nyc-robbery-ring-hacked-bank-apps-resold-stolen-phones-overseas

 

If you have "Find My Phone" on your computer there is usually included a way to remotely wipe you phone.