Vancouver Police Urge People to Treat Expensive Smartphones Like ‘Cash’

The Vancouver Police Department along with the Metro Vancouver Transit Police and TransLink have launched an awareness campaign to urge people to treat their smartphones like it’s cash, to prevent theft or robbery given the rise of cellphone theft, which now occurs at least once per day.

In 2012, the Vancouver Police Department reported 215 incidents where a device was taken with some form of violence. Through today, the Vancouver Police have recorded 148 incidents in 2013. These statistics are in addition to a much larger number of thefts of devices that were left unattended in coffee shops, at the gym, in schools and vehicles.

Below are two promotional videos which urge the public to take better care of their expensive smartphones:

For iPhone users, one way to prevent your data from being compromised after a theft is to ensure you have a secure passcode setup, plus iOS 7 installed as the security feature Activation Lock will prevent devices from being restored without your iTunes password.

If your phone is stolen, be sure to contact your carrier as the CWTA launched their national stolen cellphone blacklist program last month.

Are you currently using a passcode on your iPhone?