Any passwords that you save to your iPhone can be recovered by a skilled thief.  The way that the phone’s memory works makes it almost impossible to completely erase the data on an iPhone.  So just tossing that old phone into the trash is not the best strategy.  Rather, you should destroy the iPhone yourself.  Make sure that you carefully, and safely destroy the unit, so that no salvageable pieces are left.

A good tactic for avoiding this sort of trouble altogether is to make sure no passwords are stored in your phone.  Change the settings so that you are required to enter a password every time you use your email, or an online purchasing function, etc.  Sure it’s slightly less convenient, but in the long run it could save your identity.  Leaving vital information like passwords in your iPhone’s memory is just asking for trouble.

You also have to consider if the unit is stolen.  A thief has easy access to every function you have access to.  So protect your information, put in passwords every time necessary, and don’t store too much personal information on your phone.  Never save a record of your social security number, or other such information, anywhere in your phone.  That’s just asking for trouble.

Don’t make it easy for a thief.  Don’t save passwords, destroy your phone when you upgrade to a new one, and always guard your information carefully.  That’s really the only way to stay safe, and protect your identity from being stolen.

First off you want to password protect your phone, it’s a hassle, but something that is often overlooked and a first, simple security solution you can activate to make your phone safer.  That way anytime you turn your phone on for use, it will require a password entry, this way if you lose your cell phone the data is still password protected from anybody that might try to look into your information.

Secondly, if your phone has Wi-Fi capabilities, never transmit any personal data over public Wi-Fi connections.  This means you don’t want to conduct a whole lot of personal business using a coffee house’s internet connection, because being a public connection it’s not safe for personal data.  Anybody could easily intercept your signal and steal any information you receive or send over a public Wi-Fi network, so you should limit your use not to include anything vital, like a credit card number or information about you.

Finally, there is some information you shouldn’t store on your phone, no matter what security precautions you are already taking.  Information like bank account numbers, or the PIN number associated with your account is a big don’t.  Social Security Numbers, and credit card numbers, also a very bad idea, as that information just isn’t secure enough on your cell phone, even with limiting Wi-Fi usage and password protecting.  A smart phone is a great tool, but never forget to respect how easily the information contained within could be stolen and used against you.