Safety tips while using mobile phones

People tend to use a mobile in the same way as an item casually kept in a pocket or handbag, such a handkerchief or sunglasses. When it rings, they will take it out, talk and most often than not simply drop it wherever they happen to be seated. I have noted this especially in a bank, where a customer at the cash counter will attend to a call and then just leave it on the counter beside him. Then there is the individual who is seated in a café enjoying a hot beverage. He will hold up a book or a newspaper in front of him, effectively blocking his own sight of the mobile casually kept on the table. In yet other cases, owners leave the mobile on the seat of their parked vehicle while they hop out to buy a cigarette or paan from a vendor. In all these scenarios, the mobile owners are simply asking for their expensive gadget to be stolen. An expert thief who has mastered the art of swiping can easily walk away with the mobile.

Don't encourage a thief!
* Always keep your mobile back in your handbag / shirt pocket / mobile case hooked on the belt.
* Don't be so lost in your conversation that you are not aware of your surroundings.
* Keep a tight grip on your mobile. Newspapers have reported how thieves tend to walk past a target, turn and throw chilli powder in the eyes, and quickly snatch the mobile. Sometimes the thief doesn't even bother with the chilli powder – it is easy to just grab a mobile and take off.
* Don't get conned by a smartly dressed savvy-speaking person who shows you a brand new mobile and offers to give it at a hefty discount in exchange for your old mobile. What he actually does: shows you the new mobile and allows you to examine it; then he or a colleague of his will distract you momentarily (e.g. the colleague will ask for directions to an address so you are looking away), then hand over a wrapped package supposedly with the new mobile. He takes your mobile and vamooses. By the time you open the package, it is too late. You've lost your own mobile + cash that you may have given to the con man.
* Even in your own office, NEVER leave your mobile casually in the open. If you need to go to the washroom, lock it up in a drawer or give it to a trusted colleague.

Some years back I cam across this very useful information in a magazine:
Once your mobile is stolen, it is well nigh impossible to retrieve it unless a Good Samaritan returns it to you. There is one thing, though, that you can do: stop its usage . Every handset has an identification number that does not match with that of any other handset. This is known as the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IME) . To get this number you need to simply type *#06# . Write the number in your personal diary and store it on your computer in a file marked ‘mobile security'. As soon as your mobile is stolen, contact your service provider and provide the IME number. The service provider will block the handset and stop its use, so that you won't get an astronomical bill for calls made by the thief.

Remember : Better to be safe than sorry! Don't encourage a thief!