Asset Protection BLOG - Mark Nestmann: Your Cell Phone Can Betray You

Thanks to the HP scandal, we’ve all heard about "pretexting"—a private investigator, identity thief or government lackey contacts a cell phone operator and pretends to be you, to find out at what times and to whom you placed or received calls.

But “pretexting” is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to threats to your privacy from cell phones. Here are some of the most common threats and some common-sense ideas to deal with them:

Your cell phone is spying on you. The newest generation of cell phones are “location beacons.” Any time you switch the phone on, your physical location can be pinpointed within a few feet (in a metropolitan area). Outside a metropolitan area, your location can’t be pinpointed as precisely, but an investigator can still obtain a good idea of your movements. Protective strategy: use an anonymous, prepaid phone that can’t be traced to you.
Your voice mail box is vulnerable. It is easy for someone to access your cell phone’s voice mail if you haven’t protected your mailbox with a password. All someone needs to know is your mobile phone number and one of several industry default PIN codes. Protective strategy: Use a PIN code (not your phone number or other easy-to-guess number) to protect your voice mail box.
Incompletely deleted data can come back to haunt you. By now, many people realize that when you hit the “delete” button on a personal computer, the data isn’t necessarily gone—it’s just hidden. With the right software, the data can be recovered. It’s the same situation in a cell phone. Used phones with supposedly “deleted” data that you sell or give away can, in the right hands, surrender calling records, contact lists, SMS messages, etc. Protective strategy: Before disposing of your cell phone, remove its SIM card, if it has one. Also, follow the instructions at http://www.wirelessrecycling.com/home/data_eraser/default.asp to securely delete all personal data from your phone.
Your cell phone can be bugged. If someone can gain access to your cell phone, they can insert a tiny bugging device that will allow them to read your SMS messages. Protective strategy: Keep your cell phone with you at all times, or in a secure location where no one else can have access to it.