Do You Have a Cell Phone?  Please Be Careful

I received a warning message from the local San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce.  It was not clear if this incident that is being reported actually happened here in San Jacinto, CA or elsewhere.  The information was posted as a warning to be careful with your cell phone.

Apparently a woman had her purse stolen and inside the purse was her cell phone along with her wallet that included all of her identification and credit cards.

It took about 20 minutes for her to report the incident to the police.  When she was finished, thinking she had done the right thing, she called her husband, from a pay phone.

"Hubby" as he was labeled in the woman's cell phone asked why she was calling, that he had replied to her text with the PIN number for both the cards...and started to chastise her for not being able to keep them straight.

As soon as ‘Hubby' figured out that he had been gamed he immediately called the bank, only to find out that both accounts had already been wiped out.

The thief was able to navigate the contact list and text ‘hubby' for the pin number and clean out the bank accounts in less than 20 minutes.

MORAL OF THIS STORY

Clean up you contact list on your cell phone.  Use name and not titles.  Avoid names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Mom, Dad, Sweetheart and the like.  I would also avoid give-a-way photos for picture caller ID.  Treat your phone as if you are going to give it to the lowest slug in the human race and challenge them to steal from you. 

ANOTHER REASON TO BE CAREFUL

Now, I'm not sure if this happened anywhere or not, but as I sit and contemplate the implications that this sort of crime can lead to, it gets very scary.

Lets say you have a picture of one of your girlfriends as pat of the photo ID in the contact list...and let's say the picture is very flattering.  What would happen if the thief steals the phone and texts this person to meet them somewhere...especially if one of the parties is a real estate agent.  I'll let your own mind wonder s to what the worst-case scenario might be.

Just please be careful with technology.  It's not all innocent and precautions should be taken.  If you receive a text message from a friend or family member to meet somewhere unusual, please CALL them back to confirm.  At the very least, establish a secret password that you use to establish the legitimacy of the connection.

The more technology we introduce into our lives to make life easier and more fun, the easier and more fun thieves and bad people have attacking you...

At the risk of sounding redundant, PLEASE BE CAREFUL and Pass This Information on to Everyone You Care About...EVERYONE!

You Should Also Read:  Do You Have a GPS? Please Be Careful