Protecting Yourself From Cell Phone and Data Theft

DULUTH - Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and several others introduced new legislation designed at helping reduce cell phone theft.

They want carriers to install kill switches which would wipe all personal data from stolen phones.

The senator says there has been a rise in cell phone thefts because thieves can get a lot of money for them and they can even become violent.

Until the bill passes, there are some other things you can do.

A new smartphone can run you several hundreds of dollars.

With everyone looking to get a good deal, these phones can be especially attractive for criminals looking to make an easy buck.

Nathan Beaulieu of the Cell Phone Repair Clinic said, "when someone is selling a phone you can ask them questions and you can kind of figure out if they are legit or not, if they want to take a lower price than normal then it's probably a stolen phone."

The clinic is one of the only places in town that buys used cell phones, but they try hard to avoid purchasing stolen phones.

Owner Jason Isensee said, "we get their drivers' license, they have to fill out all this information, and we make a photocopy of their driver's license and we make sure we keep this on hand at all times and so if the phone does ever come back stolen and we have to show it to the police we have everything the police need."

Kill switch technology would make a stolen cell phone virtually useless but there are things you can now for the same impact.

Radio Shack manager Brandon Berhow said, "definitely download some type of security application on your phone. I would recommend 'Look Out,' it's a pretty easy app that you can basically secure it so you can log in later on your computer and you can wipe out stuff and you can basically lock it so nobody can get into it."

Aside from the apps, experts say the best way to make your phone unattractive is to keep a password lock on and not to leave it out.

Sgt. Tom Stolee of the Duluth Police Department said, "that's the most common place we see a phone getting stolen from is in a car, never leave a phone in a car. It just invites theft."

Police say not to store personal data on your phones.

"Anybody with any sophistication will know that hey if I look over in their documents, I can probably find usernames and passwords."

Experts say if your phone is stolen to report it to your carrier as soon as possible

Cell Phone Repair said there is a database they run phones through to see if it's stolen, so the sooner you report it, the better your chances are of finding it.