You might
think that selfies are only taken by preening teenagers, but they could
be taken by hapless thieves too as front-facing smartphone cameras are
also being used to fight crime.
A
San Francisco-based security firm has created a product that will email
victims of smartphone theft a photo of the person who has snatched
their phone.
The
photo, known as a ‘theftie’ will also be accompanied by a map of the
device’s location, which could be useful if a thief has dumped a
valuable device.
A San Francisco-based security firm called
Lookout has created a product (illustrated) that will send victims of
smartphone theft a photo of the person who has snatched their phone. The
photo, known as a 'theftie' will also be accompanied by a map of the
device's location
WHAT ARE THEFT ALERTS AND THEFTIES?
Security firm Lookout has introduced Theft Alerts to its anti-theft smartphone product.
They provide users with alerts when suspicious activity occurs on their iPhone or Android handset.
Thieves often remove a SIM card and turn off a device after stealing it to prevent the owner from tracking it.
So the Theft Alert service sends the victim an email with a photo of the thief and a map of the device's location within minutes, to give the victim the best chance of recovering their handset - and with it, private information.
Actions that trigger an alert and talk a 'theftie' - a picture of the thief taken with the handset's front-facing camera, - include: entering an incorrect password, removing a SIM card, enabling airplane mode, turning the phone off and removing Lookout.
They provide users with alerts when suspicious activity occurs on their iPhone or Android handset.
Thieves often remove a SIM card and turn off a device after stealing it to prevent the owner from tracking it.
So the Theft Alert service sends the victim an email with a photo of the thief and a map of the device's location within minutes, to give the victim the best chance of recovering their handset - and with it, private information.
Actions that trigger an alert and talk a 'theftie' - a picture of the thief taken with the handset's front-facing camera, - include: entering an incorrect password, removing a SIM card, enabling airplane mode, turning the phone off and removing Lookout.
The stolen
phone’s camera will be triggered when a thief enters a wrong password,
turns the device off or takes out the SIM card - accidentally taking a
selfie, which is emailed to the phone's registered owner.
Lookout,
the company behind the idea, added the new 'Theft Alert' to its premium
service, which is designed to be used on iPhones and Android handsets.
‘We are not providing this information for you to go out and find the device yourself,’ Lookout’s product manager Greg Lou said. ‘It is so you can give it to the police so they can find it for you.’
The
premium version of Lookout costs $3 a month or $30 for the year and
includes features such as backing up data, virus protection and finding
lost phones.
The
new capability will let users tell smartphones to send theft alerts if
anyone botches a password or puts the device in 'airplane' mode to block
network connections. These actions are commonly taken by smartphone thieves to stop an owner tracking their handset.
Lookout added the new Theft Alert to its premium
service (illustrated) which is designed to be used on iPhones and
Android handsets and costs $3 a month or $30 a year. Other features
offered include virus protection and ways to locate lost devices
On Android phones, such alerts will instruct front-facing cameras to take photos in the hope of capturing images of culprits.
Emails (pictured) include maps of the location of stolen devices as well as 'thefties' if the stolen phone is an Android
The
capability referred to by Lookout as taking a ‘theftie’ is not
available on Apple devices because the operating system won't allow it,
according to Mr Lou.
Emails
that include maps of the location of stolen devices are sent to owners.
In the case of Android, the emails include copies of ‘thefties’ taken
with front-facing cameras.
Kevin
Mahaffey, co-founder and CTO of Lookout, said: ‘From the day we started
Lookout, we've dedicated ourselves to fighting smartphone theft.
‘Today,
the problem has grown so large that nearly 70 per cent of phone theft
victims never get their phone back. This is not right. That's why we
decided to build Theft Alerts, a real-time service that intelligently
arms users with information they need to get their precious devices and
data back.’
Mr
Lou said: 'Phone theft is becoming a really big problem.’ Politicians
in the UK and U.S. agree and are putting pressure on phone companies to
do more to stop the problem.
One
in 10 smartphone users in France, UK, Germany and the U.S. have had
their phones stolen, according to a report by IDG Research on behalf of
Lookout.
Google
and Apple provide tracking services to locate lost phones and some
smartphones made by LG have a ‘kill switch’ to allow an owner to
remotely lock a device.
Lookout
launched in 2007 and reports that 55 million people worldwide use its
mobile security software, a version of which is free.
One in 10 smartphone users in France, UK,
Germany and the U.S. have had their phones stolen, according to a report
by IDG Research on behalf of Lookout. Google and Apple provide tracking
services to locate lost phones and the police atr trying to clap down
on the re-selling of stolen handsets (illustrated)
No comments:
Post a Comment