Keep your iPhone safe

13:30 20 January 2011

Recent reports have revealed that thieves are cashing in on the iPhone craze.

Street robberies in London alone have risen by more than eight per cent since 2010, driven by the increasing popularity of smartphones such as Blackberry's and iPhones.

The number of mobiles stolen in muggings has also risen by 22 per cent. So what can we do to prevent the worst happening and keep our technology safe?

The obvious Keep your phone in a secure area. Never leave it unattended while you are out in public and avoid using it when walking alone or at night.

Drawing attention Always try to keep your mobile phone on vibrate or even silent when out in public to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Pick a password Make sure your phone is password protected in case it does get into the wrong hands. You can then stop unauthorised calls being made and your protect personal information.

Be extra careful and set your passcode lock to activate via a timer, so if the phone isn't used for a certain amount of time, thirty seconds say, then it automatically locks.

Prevention is better than cure Register your phone on the UK National Property Register free of charge. You will need your phone's IMEI number which is unique to every mobile. You can find this number out by pressing # 0 6 # on your keypad. It is wise to keep a note of your phone's IMEI number.

Technology Anti-theft software is available for some models of mobile phone so shop around and see if any are compatible with your smartphone. GadgetTrak is one such application.

It can be enabled through any web browser and when it is activated, it silently reports its location, can sense when your device has changed location significantly and it also keeps track of where your phone has been. Once logged in, you can even back up the data then wipe it clean on your phone.

Marking The police recommend that you mark all of your valuable property and personal items in case the worst happens. You can do this a number of ways, but the quickest technique is ultra-violet marking.

This can be done at home easily with the aid of a ultra-violet pen. The markings are not visible until they are viewed under a UV light, but the pen can fade after about 18 months so make sure to re-do the mark.

It is recommended that you mark your mobile phone with your postcode and/or house number underneath and on the battery.

Act fast If your mobile is stolen, call Immobilise on 0870 123 123 to block your phone immediately.