My laptop or cell phone has never been stolen, but I know how it must feel for one to be a victim of such theft. A few months ago, there was one late evening that I realized that my cell phone was missing. I hadn’t really been anywhere that day except to one store, yet I could have sworn that I left my cell phone at home on the charger since the battery was low. I did what anyone would do if they were in that predicament. I called the store to see if someone had sighted a lost phone. Of course, my luck, no one came forward with a lost phone.
Being the worrier that I am, panic started to set in. Some of my most important information (i.e. stored password information and contacts) and pictures was on there. I logged into my account of my cell phone provider and added a tracking service on the family plan to locate my phone. The tracking service had some very spotty reviews, but I decided to take my chances. Lo and behold, it located my device at an address near my house.
I took the liberty of looking up this address via Google Maps with Street View, because I was ready to report it to the police. However, there wasn’t a house at this address. Just a vacant lot and sidewalk. Puzzling. At this point, I started to agree with the spotty reviews that I had read about this tracker. It was extremely late in the night at this point to be investigating, yet my husband agreed to go to this location just in case my cell phone happened to be on the sidewalk. Pretty far-fetched theory. That theory wasn’t far-fetched after all, because my husband located it on the street, near the sidewalk, after he called it and heard it rang. I’m not sure why and how it got there, but my cell phone was back in my hands at last. If he hadn’t found it then, no telling what would have happened. A stranger could have picked it up, or a car could have run over it. I’m surprised that the latter didn’t happen, but it wasn’t damaged in any way. Thank goodness for that tracker!
My theory is that my husband took my phone off the charger (probably thought I needed it), absentmindedly placed it on top of the car while he was putting our daughter in the carseat; and it fell off the car onto the street. To me, this theory makes sense since I was the one that had driven, while he sat on the passenger side; and the phone was located on the opposite direction (passenger side). He vehemently denies this. 😀
According to studies, 113 cell phones are stolen every minute in the United States. These are significant, yet sobering numbers enough to take necessary action to prevent identity theft. Some of the best and most surefire ways to protect your data is adding a lock and installing a tracking software on your devices. A tracking software, such as Absolute LoJack, will locate your device, lock it from intruders, and permanently erase your personal data to prevent and protect you from potential identity theft and fraudulent purchases.
Even though Absolute LoJack is currently compatible with Samsung Galaxy devices, their Absolute Data Protect will locate your device, lock it from intruders, and permanently erase your personal data to prevent and protect you from potential identity theft and fraudulent purchases. They also offer a Recover and Guarantee (if they’re unable to return the device to you within 60 days).
Absolute Data Protect Product Features
Sometime during next week, I’ll be going without my cell phone for 2 day whole days! This pales in comparison when my cell phone was missing for a few hours. Absolute LoJack invited a team of bloggers, including myself, to participate in this #DigitallyDark Challenge. Each of us will be replicating an experience of having a device “stolen” from us, and then chronicling our “digitally dark” experience with our readers. Stay tuned for insights from 7 on a Shoestring, CSAndreas Vlog, Divas & Dorks, Surviving College, LittleTechGirl, Neowin, Geekazine, and That Tech Chick.
Win It: Five winners will receive a 1-Year Premium Subscriptions to Absolute LoJack. The giveaway will conclude on March 23rd.
What would you do if your laptop or cell phone was stolen?
