This post is brought to you as part of my continued partnership with Absolute LoJack, to help promote Device Theft Awareness Month.
What are some of the things you might miss if your laptop were stolen? Most of us would probably miss conveniences like our stored pictures, bookmarks, address book, reminders, alarm clock, and more. But the real concern is with the personal information that when in the wrong hands can result in identity theft. Think about all of the personal information that is stored on your computer like saved passwords, bank account information, Paypal, saved documents containing your social security number, email contacts, social platforms like Facebook, and much more. The thought of my laptop falling into the wrong hands scares the heck out of me!
Laptop, smartphone and tablet theft is a real issue with identity theft on the rise. Identity theft was one of the top 10 complaints with the FTC for the 13th consecutive year, though there was a 32% increase in complaints in 2012, up to 2 million. In 2012, approximately 16.6 million persons, or 7% of all U.S. residents age 16 or older, reported being victims of one or more incidents of identity theft, though estimates vary by source. These numbers are startling.
Identity Theft is On the Rise
• 1 incident of identity fraud every 3 seconds
• 15 million Americans are victims of identity theft each year
• Average loss is $3,500
• Ages 20-29 are most affected, according to 23% of total complaints
Here are some tips to help you keep your laptop safe:
Luckily, there is a whole lot more we can do to protect ourselves from device theft.
Absolute LoJack Uncovered: If you do happen to become the unfortunate victim of device theft, leave the recovery of your device to the professionals. Absolute LoJack, an industry leader in laptop tracking software and smartphone tracking software, offers peace of mind by protecting your data in the event of a stolen device. Unlike other security services that only locate missing devices, Absolute LoJack is dedicated to recovering stolen devices and returning them to their rightful owners. Absolute LoJack has a highly skilled Investigations Team made up of former law enforcement professionals with extensive training in computer forensics and cyber crime. Their expertise and data protection software will ensure your device gets back into the right hands.
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Back-to-School Sweepstakes
Sign-up for a 30-day free trial of Absolute LoJack and enter the Back-to-School Sweepstakes to win. The sweepstakes will begin at 12:01 AM PDT August 18, 2014 and end at 11:59 PM PDT September 12, 2014. There will be three winners in total, one grand prize, one first prize and one second prize all with different prize packages. Each winner will be drawn from random on 9/15. Chances of winning will vary depending on the number of entries. Legal residents of the United States and Canada, excluding Quebec, age 18 or older as of August 18, 2014, are eligible to enter.
Entering the sweepstakes is easy. Just visit https://www.laptoplifeline.com and enter a valid email address to receive a one month trial code of Absolute LoJack. Follow the instructions to activate and you are entered. There is no purchase necessary. For a full list of official rules please visit: http://lojack.absolute.com/en/laptoplifeline to learn more.
For crime prevention info and tips, be sure to follow hashtag #AbsoluteUncovered on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
People are crazy, i keep all my electronic close by, and very passworded, my laptop you need to scan your finger and go through facial recognition to get in, but im sure you could get around that.. great post i had no idea about half the things
Sounds Like I Really Need To Get Lojack I Love All The Features!!
This is frightening to me, I would die if my laptop was stolen – die!! So, it looks like I need to step up the protection!!
Honestly I would be terrified if my laptop was stolen. Far too much sensitive information on it! It’s really quite a scary thought.
I just saw another post about this same thing. We have great virus protection but I haven’t thought about something that locks thieves out in the event of theft. Good information.
The thought of losing my laptop has kept me from bringing it places before. I would be so scared if it were taken or lost.
I don’t know what I would do if my laptop got stolen. It has so much information on it! I’m definitely going to take steps to protect myself.
My laptop has all my important info on it as well. I keep an eye on it, but maybe that’s not enough…
It is so important to protect your identity. Thank you for a great list of ways to keep your info safe.
I would definitely miss all of my pictures & bookmarks. But I save all of my passwords so I would probably die if my accounts got drained. This is a great idea to have this service!
Never really thought about my laptop getting stolen. Eek – I will now that’s for sure!