How to protect against identity theft from iOS 7 security flaw Leave a comment

How to protect against identity theft from iOS 7 security flaw

Did you know there is currently a big flaw in the security of the iPhone 5s with iOS 7?

I will explain how to prevent this flaw from impacting you against identity theft by:

A. what you can do to best protect yourself against this threat.

B. explain why it’s important to do this NOW.

Step 1: You need to create an email address that does not automatically go to your mailbox on your iPhone.

Step 2: You want to set this new email address as your “Password Reset” email address for your iTunes account. (need help? click here.)

That is it.  By completing these two steps, you could potentially save yourself from identity theft.

There is a new trend amongst thieves that exploit these flaws in the security of the iPhone. First, what the thief does is steal your iPhone. The thief immediately brings up your Command Center and puts it into Airplane Mode (by putting it into Airplane Mode, it effectively renders the Find My iPhone app useless because it depends on a connection to the internet in order to lock the device out, erase the data or send an alert).

Next, once the thief has your device at their workstation, they can lift your fingerprints  off of the screen of your device using simple techniques they can learn on www.YouTube.com. After doing this, they now have access to your device and can go into your iTunes account and simply reset your password for iTunes.

The thief then quickly turns off Airplane Mode long enough to allow the email to come through, but not long enough for the Find My iPhone app to take effect (erasing the phone or locking the phone.)

Now, if your iTunes password is being sent to the email address that is on your iPhone, the thief now has access to your iTunes account. Furthermore, by having access to your phone, the thief can also follow the same process and reset passwords for most of your other sites, like Google which has control over all of your Google accounts which may include Google Wallet, YouTube, and other personal information.

Once the thief has access to all of this information, they can either use it themselves, or sell this information on the open market.

Also, once they have your iTunes username and password, they can wipe the iPhone “clean”, rendering the new iOS 7 security feature, the “Activation Lock Out”, useless. This leaves the device free and clear, and able to be sold on the open market.

Please take time now to create that email account and give yourself some peace of mind from any potential identity theft. (if you need help, click here).

I hope you found this article helpful. If you think this might help someone else, please share this article using one of the social media buttons below. If you want more of this type of information, click here to register for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you.
-J