Private Data left on 54 per cent of Old Mobiles
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 10:49:11
People who send off their mobile phones to recycling firms or sell them on to other users often forget to delete the personal information which is stored in huge quantities on modern handsets, with the latest figures suggesting that 54 per cent of used mobiles are packed with potentially damaging data.
A study conducted by CPP, saw 35 separate used mobile phones and 50 used SIM cards acquired and analysed, with 19 of the handsets and 27 of the SIMs found to contain information left there by the previous owners.
The data which was recovered from the used mobiles was wide ranging, from phone numbers to bank details and even social networking logins for sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, according to Metro.co.uk.
A recent survey of people who have bought used mobile phones from sites like eBay revealed that in over half of all cases there is still information stored on the phones.
This news comes in spite of the claims from people who sell or recycle their mobiles that in 81 per cent of incidents they have been confident that all of their private data has been erased after a full factory reset.
As a result of its own experiments, CPP is saying that consumers should take extra care to completely sanitise their old mobile phones before they sell them on to other users or send them off to be recycled.
CPP spokesperson, Danny Harrison, said that mobile phone usage was becoming more dangerous because consumers fail to recognise the potential risks associated with leaving personal data stored on used devices.
Mr Harrison believes that the responsibility for looking after private information lies with the user alone, but it is clear that through education, the process of selling and recycling mobile phones can be made safer.
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