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More and more cases of smartphone theft are being reported. You’re standing at the station, mobile phone in hand reading the news, checking the weather, scrolling through Facebook… next minute it’s gone.
Smartphone theft is the personal disaster set to grow exponentially
Unlocked and unprotected your data is now critically vulnerable to the skilled plundering of digital thieves. They are prepared, they know exactly what they’re looking for and where to find it on your phone. Before you can react, the location finder is disabled and your Apple password changed, giving you no way to trace your phone or regain control of your account. Next, they’re into your Bank accounts and other accessible apps, downloading purchased assets and leveraging every opportunity. Offences range from maxing out credit cards to using personal data to set up further bank accounts or take out loans.
This topic recently featured on the front page of the Financial Times Money Review:
“It took just seconds for a masked man on an e-bike to snatch my smartphone out of my hands as I waited for a bus in central London in the morning rush hour.”
“I lost a phone and several days of my life dealing with the financial fall out, and I was lucky not to lose more.”
“It took me 20 minutes to report my phone stolen on the Metropolitan Police website. Four hours later an email with a crime number informed me that they would not be investigating further and my case was closed.”
“A few days after my phone was swiped I had purchased a new handset and was back up and running on the same mobile number. But my ordeal was not over. Next, the phishing attempts began…”
Report by Claer Barrett of the Financial Times
The impact of mobile phone theft is much greater than people anticipate
With hard cash a distant memory, even plastic credit cards have taken a back seat in favour of tapping a mobile device at the checkout. Whether it’s in a supermarket, purchasing travel tickets or higher value goods, the use of phone as payment method is increasing daily. The concept of waving plastic cards is a nonsense to the under 30s and this will only increase as time passes and more functions and possibilities are added to our smart phones.
Enter Nuke.app
As such, having your mobile phone stolen creates untold chaos, as Nuke.app creator, James O’Sullivan explains having experienced smartphone theft first hand during an evening out – with very expensive consequences. Thinking he was safe thanks to the face recognition feature, a day later he realised he’d lost tens of thousands of pounds. “I think a spotter observed me using my phone PIN during the night.” It can happen easily enough in a crowded bar or public space.
This led tech-pro, James, to conceive Nuke.app. If your phone is stolen you simply ‘hit the Nuke’ and your personal data and assets are safe. Of course, if your phone has been taken how do you activate this smart feature? The answer is the Nuke network. Currently in development and at the Beta testing stage, Nuke is inexpensive to sign up to and share with trusted family and friends. If your phone is swiped you can log in via a person on your network, your wife/husband/best mate/colleague and a PIN number ensures that your phone access is zapped – whilst not needing to actually share anything sacrosanct with anyone. Simple.
Our involvement
Inca Creative is an investor and partner of the Nuke.app programme, and have played an active role in the Nuke from Orbit story by developing and maintining the Nuke website.
“We’re extremely interested to see how this app will develop and the potential it has to save a global audience from the stress and distress of unexpectedly losing your smartphone. It could happen to anyone and now there’s an effective solution to protect yourself,” says Jo Parsons, Inca Creative MD
Sign up to Nuke.app
Currently in the final stages of development, you can sign up to Nuke and be one of the first to get the app when it hits the market later this year. Already attracting attention from Banks and financial institutions, the Nuke concept could easily become the must-have utility for anyone with a bank account (i.e. everyone).