Identity Protection Now Available on Smartphones

The world of identity theft is extensive. While many Americans are victims of low-tech schemes like basic mail or trash theft, savvy identity thieves are keeping up with technology. Now, iPhone users can download an application to prevent identity thieves from stealing information off your smartphone.

VeriSign, one of the industry leaders in encryption technology and Internet security, has released an application for iPhone users that will protect them from lurking identity thieves. The application, which is free, helps mask your logins and passwords on frequently visited sites.

The application is called VIP Access. To use it, you must tell VeriSign which sites you frequent – such as your bank, shopping sites or even social networking sites – and the application will step in on your behalf. According to reviews of VIP Access, the process will protect your logins. Identity theft experts say the biggest threat is stealing logins and passwords – not necessarily the actual phones.

Other safety and security ideas

Mobile security and safety are becoming big businesses, particularly as so many of us work remotely, network with friends on a constant basis, and use our phones and computers for just about every part of daily life. Be sure you consider these security issues as they pertain to not only your smartphone, but also your everyday computers:

• A recent study of security trends found that hackers and thieves are focusing their attention on mobile devices rather than desktop-style computers.
• In that study, it was found that more than half of respondents reported receiving mobile-phone spam.
• There are viruses that are intended and designed especially for mobile phones.
• Most smartphone users do not duplicate the Internet security measures they practice on their desktop computers when they use their smartphones. In fact, the study found that many smartphone owners readily used unknown URLs and hyperlinks that appeared in their smartphone email system.

To protect yourself, your information and your credit, be sure to consider these factors as you use your phone in public areas and process transactions via smartphones:

• If you don’t want someone near you to see what you’re writing or doing on your smartphone, don’t let them see it. Cover the screen with your unused hand, turn your back to them, do something to protect the information. Behave as you do when using an ATM – you don’t let strangers see you enter your PIN, do you?
• If you are processing financial transactions and other potentially sensitive transactions through your smartphone, you might want to invest in screen protectors that add a glare so people nearby can’t see what you’re doing. They are relatively inexpensive – many people use similar products to protect their laptop screens from prying eyes.
• Invest in security applications or software to protect your phone. Make sure you have some sort of data backup and protection system in place in the event that your phone gets a virus or, worse, stolen. Make your passwords hard to remember, and protect your information at all costs.