As mobile phones become increasingly valuable, not only in terms of their monetary worth but also the importance of the information they contain, special steps need to be taken to protect them. There are a number of things you can do both now and after your phone is lost or stolen.
Register Your property On 12 January 2005 a new police-endorsed National Mobile Phone Register was launched - Immobilise. This is free and replaces the old MendUK database. It was set up because details of lost or stolen property were only available to the local police force there was no coordinated centralised database that police could search to track down owners outside their local area. It's worth registering your phones, PDAs, laptops, MP3 players etc, basically all your valuable mobile gear. It's free. Apart from your name, address and contact details you'll need the IMEI number, make and model. You can also edit the register to add descriptive info e.g. the colour of the device, any custom covers etc. http://www.immobilise.com/index.php
Make a note of the IMEI number IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers are used to help mobile phone companies and you keep track of mobile phone usage. If your phone is lost or stolen, the phone company can enter the IMEI number into the database and permanently deactivate the phone. Even if the SIM card is changed, the mobile phone will not work. There are a few things you can do to find the IMEI number on a mobile phone.
Open the battery cover on your mobile phone and remove the battery. The IMEI number should be located on the white label under the battery. It will be 15 to 17 digits long with no letters or slashes. You only need the first 15 numbers. Replace the battery and power the phone on. If the IMEI number is not located under the battery, there are other ways to find it. Wait for the phone to initialize before continuing. Enter *#06# on your phone's key pad. When the final # is entered, a 15-digit number with the title "IMEI number" will appear. Copy the number down and keep it for future reference. If that didn't work you have still more options. If your phone is made by Motorola, you need to press #,*, (menu) and then press the right arrow very quickly. Do not pause when pressing the keys. The IMEI number will appear on the screen. Check the phone's menu if you have a SIM card. Scroll through the menu until you find IMEI or SIM ID. Press enter to display the phone's IMEI number. If you have an older phone with a SIM card, you can press the right arrow until you see IMEI. Press the Enter key to see the IMEI number. If there are only seven digits shown, you can hit the Menu key and then the Next key to see the remaining digits.
Finding a Lost Phone Applications are available for a wide range of mobiles which enable the location of a lost phones to be determined. In addition , by going online, it is possible to make the phone emit an alarm or for sensitive information to be automatically deleted. Some apps also enable backups to be made in advance that can be easily restored to a new phone if necessary. Find my i-Phone If you lose your iPhone or iPad, MobileMe can help you find it with Find My iPhone. Just enable Find My iPhone in the MobileMe settings on your iPhone or iPad. Then sign in to me.com from any computer or using the Find My iPhone app on another iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to display its approximate location on a full-screen map. Further details are available at http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/find-myiphone.html
Lookout Mobile Security To grab a free copy of Lookout Mobile Security, just visit the official download page at https:// www.mylookout.com/download for ways to download onto your mobile device. Lookout Mobile Security is available for Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile phones.
A demonstration of these apps can be arranged at school. Please contact Mr Smith or Mr Toogood for details