Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Lose your phone? Better hope you locked it.

This is a Marketplace.org Reader


A new study by Symantec Corp shows that in 89% of found phones attempts will be made to access your data. And out of those 89%, only half will want to try and find you to return the phone. From the L.A. Times: “The results were pretty depressing. According to the report, six out of 10 finders attempted to view social media information and email on the phones, eight out of 10 finders tried to access phony corporate information that Symantec had loaded on the phone and half of the finders even tried to access a bank account linked to the phone.”

Now I now you’re a kind and gentle person. I get it. You come to a complete stop at stop signs, even when nobody is around. You carefully usher out tiny spiders instead of squishing them. It’s your personal policy to stop and buy lemonade from any kid you see on the street with a make-shift stand. But it’s time to get a little callous and jaded. I won’t judge. People are out to get you, and they don’t care if you’re a friend to cute little bugs or even cuter little kids. The easiest way to stop them: password protect your phone. It’s simple and effective.

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    2 hours ago
    6:24
  • Marketplace Tech
    4 hours ago
    4:14
  • Marketplace
    3 days ago
    25:17
  • Make Me Smart
    3 days ago
    28:36
  • Million Bazillion
    6 days ago
    32:45
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    3 months ago
    35:26