Get a Good Grip on Your Cell Phones

Nationwide there has been a sharp increase in robberies of communication devices including phones, smartphones and tablet computers, often through violent attacks, the Major Cities Chiefs Association said in a Feb. 12 resolution. The group represents police chiefs in the 50 largest U.S. cities including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Everyone wants a smartphone, including thieves! I’ve been aware of the fact that more than 40 percent of all robberies that occurred in New York City last year involved the theft of mobile devices, but I am still disturbed by that statistic every time I hear it. Cell phone carriers have now met with the FCC and have decided to render our cell phones inoperable once they’ve been reported as stolen. It’s supposed to discourage cell phone thieves and protect our information.

When I’m riding the subway, I’m always reading articles I’ve saved to my phone, and ever since I learned about the rise in cell phone thefts last summer, I’ve become one of those crazy people who reads on their iPhone with both hands gripped tightly around it. When someone makes just the slightest move towards me, I hug it to my chest as if it’s the one ring to rule them all, and there’s no way in hell you’re taking my smartphone because it’s my precious, and I’ll die in a volcanic pit in Mount Doom before you take it away from me. Also: Find My Phone app—probably useful!

Photo: Flickr/Neal Rosenau