With the increase in robberies involving mobile phone theft – according to a Home Office Research Study, mobile phones are now involved in 28% of all robberies compared to 8% three years ago and more than 100 mobiles left in cabs every day, according to the Home Office British Crime Survey, mobile security firm UMU has developed an application called StopThief to help protect consumers.
UMU StopThief is a simple, easy-to-use application which blocks the use of a Smartphone in the event of it being lost or stolen. The application automatically notifies the owner if the SIM card is changed and will provide an exact location if the unit is Cell ID- or GPS-enabled. For additional peace of mind, UMU StopThief also allows users to remotely lock the mobile device or delete all the information contained on their phone.
With Smartphones increasingly being used for personal and business purposes, the risk of sensitive information falling into the hands of thieves has never been greater, says UMU. Even without valuable information, these phones can be used to make calls at the users expense.
UMU StopThief is activated over the air, and has a low memory footprint and battery drain. It is priced initially at 9.95, and is available for Symbian OS Series 60; 2nd Edition; and Nokia 3rd Edition. It is also available for Windows Mobile 2003 SE for Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition and Smartphone; 5.0 for Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition and Smartphone; and 6 Classic, Professional and Standard.
As Smartphones become more complex and versatile, the number of people using them to store valuable personal or professional information will continue to increase, says UMU CTO, Peter Harrison. Modern life has made carrying Smartphones almost ubiquitous, and they are all the more susceptible to being lost or stolen, because they are with us at all times. Many people go to extreme lengths to protect the data on their PCs or laptops and yet leave the same data on their Smartphones completely vulnerable.
You can download UMU StopThief here.