Don't Lose Your Phone While On Vacation—Have A Plan

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Have A Plan (NAPSA)—There are few things more exciting than taking a vacation. Throughout the year, tens of millions of Americans will hop on planes or jump in cars to leave the stress and pressure of everydaylife behind. While they may head out without a care in the world, many will have their peaceful vacation ruined when they become one of the millions of Americans who lose their phones every year. Regardless of how it happens, phones often get misplaced or stolen, and it can really put a damper on a day...or an entire vacation. Lost (and Found) in Vietnam Take Nicole from San Diego. During a recent vacation with her sister in Vietnam, she was on an overnight bus ride when she became a victim of theft. The criminal didn't target her moneyor jewelry...he targeted her smartphone. By the time Nicole realized what had happened, the thief and her phone were long gone. In a foreign country, without her phone, Nicole had to figure out what to do and how,if possible, to retrieve her device. Fortunately, she’d planned ahead and installed Avast Software’s Anti-Theft app—a tool that gives users the ability to locate, lock and wipe their phones if they are ever lost or stolen. Avast was able to share the phone number from the Vietnamese SIM card that had been placed in her phone, and Nicole and her sister could provide the police with that number. Thepolice called the thief and convinced him to mail the phoneto the police station. Just like that, Nicole recovered her smartphone and continued on with her trip around Vietnam. Plan Ahead While travelingis a lot of fun, it doesn’t come without modern challenges. Sure, many people make sure that they have emergency cash and copies of their identification in case they lose their wallets, but planning Traveling can be more fun when you don’t have to worry about your phonegetting lost or stolen. must go beyond that and extend to personaldevices. Think about the amount of information on a smartphone. Photos, e-mails, text messages, banking apps and more—losing your phone can be more than losing a device, it can be having your identity stolen. “We know that millions of smartphones are lost or stolen every year, and with them are large amounts of sensitive, personal data,” said Gagan Singh, president of mobile at Avast. “With the amount of priceless information on our devices, from photos to videos to even banking information, users should plan ahead so they have a way to delete the contents if their phones happen to go missing or fall into the wrong hands.” Tools like Avast’s Anti-Theft app help users locate and recover their lost or stolen mobile devices. Being able to locate, track, lock, wipe and even sound an alarm on the phone, people can rest assured that their personal information can either be recovered or completely erased from their devices. So don’t let a misplaced mobile phone or theft ruin your wellearned vacation. Prepare for the worst-case scenario, then relax and enjoy your holiday knowing you are covered. To learn more about Avast Anti-Theft, visit www.avast.com.

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