Be Smart With Your SmartPhone

Monday, June 26, 2023

I remember driving around in my parents' Lincoln Continental Valentino, at age 16.  It was a magnificent car and it had a 'mobile phone' built in.  I never actually used the phone, but I do recall driving around holding the handset (complete with the spiral cord attachment) and pretending that I was talking.  My parents were Smart enough to recognize that prohibiting my use of that high-tech device would save them some cash!  Even with the restriction, I felt pretty cool.

Probably not as cool as my 16-year-old son, who drives around in the car using his 'SmartPhone'.  Today, his 'mobile phone' is wirelessly connected using Bluetooth technology and is affordable enough that he actually gets to use it!  Times sure have changed!

Technology is changing so rapidly and our phones are so smart that even our industry is in the middle of a mobile transformation! 

Today, our SmartPhones answer phone calls and a whole lot more! (without being tethered!)

  • Send/Receive Email
  • Surf the Internet
  • Mobile Banking
  • Store Critical Data
  • Manage Calendar
  • Play Games
  • Store Books
  • Take Notes
  • Process Credit Cards (one of our favorite features!)
  • And About a Million Other Things!

No matter how 'Smart' our phones get, we have to make sure that we are smarter!  In a recent Pew Research Center Study, they concluded the following:

As the popularity of cell phones rises, so do concerns over security and privacy. And users have good reason to be concerned. According to Pew, 31 percent of mobile phone owners have lost or had their phones stolen. And 12 percent say that their phone's data has been accessed by another person, leaving them with a feeling that their privacy had been invaded.

According to research by Tower Group, close to 18 million people took advantage of mobile banking in 2010. But this year the number is expected to grow to 27.4 million and could top 53 million users by 2013. Crooks are no doubt drooling over the fact that the number of potential victims will grow exponentially in the next few years.

Kasey Steinbrinck of Check Advantage suggests the following ways to outsmart criminals and keep your data and your SmartPhone- SAFE!

Four Things You Should Do To Prevent Identity Theft/Fraud On Your Smartphone (+1 from TMC)

  1. Set up a password and keep your phone locked when you aren’t using it
  2. Avoid using an unsecured Wi-Fi connection – especially when accessing sensitive info
  3. Never download anything from an untrusted source – unless you want a virus
  4. Delete everything off  your old smartphone before you get rid of it
  5. Use safe devices on compliant mobile SmartPhones when accepting credit cards

Back in the 80's, my parents protected their identity (and their phone bill) by not losing their wallets and not giving a teenage girl permission to use that old mobile phone.  Today, we have to be much smarter in order to continue enjoying that ingenious creation; the SmartPhone!  Be Careful & Stay SMART!!


Mobile processing is a great processing solution and finding the best for you and your company is as easy as calling our team- we will help you sift through all of the offers and identify the best overall fit for your growing business! It pays to work with a trusted, integrity-based company! Give our team a call @ 888-249-9919 and we can go over these solutions with you. 

Cheri Perry 6/26/2023