New Technology Offers Protection from Theft

With all of the new technological gadgets available today, people are becoming more concerned with losing memories and personal information than they are with the gadget itself. CNN tells us about Chua Si Zhen, from Singapore, who lost her cell phone in a café. She said it wasn't the cell phone she was worried about, but "the contacts, and the little info that I have in there, like my photos and everything".

Luckily, her phone was returned within an hour, but not before he attempted to steal the phone. Ms. Zhen had software installed on her phone that when someone else tries to insert their own SIM card, her contacts are sent text messages with the new phone number, and other details. Mr. Zhen called the thief on his "new phone" when he received the text message, and the thief agreed to return the phone in person.

This software program is called "PhoneBak", put out by a Singapore company called Bak2u (www.bak2u.com). Having gadgets that store data such as the newer cell phones do, is creating a new niche for software companies to break into. Statistics provided by the Consumer Electronics Association give these software companies even more initiative: thirty-seven percent of US households have either a notebook or laptop computer; sixty-two percent own a digital camera; and seventy-six percent carry cell phones.

Andrew Jaquith, a security analyst with Yankee Group, a research firm, states that the "trends are quite clear: businesses and consumers want smaller, more mobile devices". He goes on to say "it stands to reason that, all other things being equal, the aggregate demand for services to retrieve lost gadgets will increase".

Bak2u started their business about a year and a half ago, offering labels to gadget owners. These labels contain a unique serial number, a phone number, and a website address. The consumer registers their gadget with the serial number, puts the label on the gadget, and when a Good Samaritan finds the gadget, Bak2u acts as a middleman, returning the gadget to its rightful owner. Bak2u is still offering this service, just more technologically based.