Stolen Smartphone-Brick It!

Boston Police Department reports more than 2200 cell phones were stolen in 2012. Expensive and easy to re-sell, the threat of having your smart phone stolen a real one. But, now there is something you can do to render the phone worthless and prevent the thief from accessing your personal information.

It’s called bricking. If your smart phone is lost or stolen, contact your carrier and ask them to remotely disable the device. After a phone has been ‘bricked’ or disabled, it has little value to any would-be thief who tries to sell it or anyone who tries to use it. Bricking a phone essentially makes the phone useless (like a brick). After a phone is bricked, all the information that was once on the phone can no longer be accessed.

By bricking your phone, everybody wins. Not only will you protect your private information but you’ll also help police eliminate the black market that exists for stolen smart phones. Said another way, you can help reduce robberies by eliminating the reason criminals steal smart phones in the first place.

A variety of resources, mostly online, can be found and used immediately once a person’s cell phone is stolen.
BPD warns people who may have misplaced their cell phone and don’t believe it was stolen may not want to brick it. Bricking cannot be reversed.

For safety tips pertaining to wireless devices, visit the FCC’s website: http://www.fcc.gov/guides/stolen-and-lost-wireless-devices

For instructions on contacting your service provide in case of robbery or theft, visit: http://www.fcc.gov/stolen-phones-contact-numbers