2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Joshua Hartley, Alex Evans)
Martin Lewis has sounded an alarm for mobile phone users, suggesting a critical action to be taken immediately. During his ITV segment on Tuesday night, he revealed that there has been a 40 per cent surge in phone thefts with criminals targeting financial information stored on mobile devices. To safeguard against such threats and potential financial losses due to stolen phones, he recommends a simple but crucial measure.
Speaking on his March 11 episode of the Martin Lewis Money Show Live , Martin underscored the rising issue and its consequences: "Mobile security tips - thefts are up 40 per cent in London but they're going up right across the country too." He emphasized the underlying motive behind these thefts: "Now the crucial thing, they're not just trying to nick your phone, some of them are trying to access your financial data from your phone." Highlighting the importance of protection, Martin insisted: "You have to protect yourselves on this, folks," reports the Express .
To enhance security measures, Martin advises utilising remote tracking applications which can aid in locating stolen phones, such as Apple's Find My, SmartThings for Samsung, or Android's Find My Device. He also suggests halting payment activities on the device. Furthermore, Martin recommends enabling biometric authentication, like fingerprint ID verification, on both the handset itself and banking applications.
Additionally, he shared a crucial five-digit code for users to dial, after which one should screen grab and email themselves the result for added security. "That is what you're gonna need to give to police if your phone is stolen. Screen grab it and assuming you can access your email not just on your phone, I would just email it to yourself so you've got a copy somewhere.
" Martin also emphasised that 'possibly the most important' piece of advice is ensuring two-factor authentication codes don't show up on your lock screen. He explained: "Many people have that appear on their lock screen so when your phone's locked, the code still appears. You don't want that.
It means if someone gets your phone they can get the code. So what you need to do to stop that is turn off your 'preview notifications'. It will still tell you you've had a message but it won't tell you your code on your message.
Everybody please do that one. It's a nightmare if you've not done it.".
