You’ve checked all the lists, your vacation is relaxing, and your child’s mobile phone gets lost or stolen. Are you prepared?
With the school holidays in full swing, many families will jet off to their favorite vacation destinations for fun in the sun.
According to ChildWise, researchers have found that 53% of youngsters own mobile phones by around the age of seven- and of course, it’s highly likely that they will want to travel with them.
In 2021, around 8.7 million phones were lost or stolen- over 1,000 every hour.
For parents concerned about their child’s mobile on vacation, Brean Horne, a personal finance expert at the comparison site, NerdWallet, shares five precautions to take to protect their personal information if their device does get lost or stolen abroad.
Change your passwords on emails and social accounts
Changing the passwords to their email and social media accounts is one of the first steps to take if your child’s phone gets lost or stolen. This will help to prevent someone from accessing private information from your accounts that could be used to commit fraud.
Most apps, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Gmail, save your username and password so that you don’t have to keep logging in each time you want to use them. While this can help save time, anyone can get into your accounts if they have your phone.
Turning off this feature, or remembering to log out of your accounts when they are not in use, could make the phone a lot more secure and reduce the risk of someone accessing any accounts if the phone is misplaced or stolen.
Cancel cards connected to your device
Apple, Google Pay, and online banking are among the most commonly used payment methods today and can be authorized by simply entering your password, face recognition, or fingerprint authentication.
While face recognition and fingerprint authentication may be more difficult for someone else to access, passwords can be guessed more easily.
Canceling any cards connected to your device will help prevent unauthorized payments.
If you think you’ve just misplaced your phone, your card provider may offer to ‘freeze’ your card, temporarily blocking payments until you track it down.
Keep your location on
Keeping the GPS location on your phone turned on can help you track it down more easily if it gets lost or stolen.
Most phones offer a ‘find-my-phone’ security feature that allows you to trace your phone, call it and wipe information remotely using the GPS.
You must turn on this feature in your phone’s settings to use it. And it’s worth keeping it switched on, especially when traveling abroad.
Log out of Cloud Services
Most personal photos, contacts, and data are stored in the Cloud (apps like iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox); you definitely don’t want someone to access that.
You can follow the right steps using another device of your own, or someone else’s to help you log out of the cloud and even change your password to prevent somebody from trying to log back in.
Contact your mobile Carrier
It’s vital to let your mobile phone provider know if your device is lost or stolen.
Whether on a pay-monthly contract or a pay-as-you-go SIM, they can block your device to prevent unauthorized calls or data usage.
They’ll also issue a new SIM card with your existing number.
From doing this, you may also be able to get a replacement phone delivered to you, depending on both your carrier and how long you will be out of the country.
Conclusion:
Things happen, but with this guide to protect our child’s personal information if their device does get lost or stolen on vacation, you’ll be prepared and back to enjoying your holiday.