Are pre-owned smartphones protected? How to decide on a second-hand cellphone and keep away from safety dangers

Shopping for a pre-owned cellphone doesn’t need to imply compromising your safety – take these steps to get pleasure from the advantages of cutting-edge expertise at a fraction of the associated fee

09 Dec 2024
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5 min. learn

The trendy smartphone has grow to be an indispensable piece of expertise. These highly effective, pocket-sized computer systems allow us to do every thing from hailing cabs to consulting with our native physician. However prices may be prohibitive. Unsurprisingly, second-hand and refurbished units have grow to be an more and more in style possibility, offering entry to premium expertise at a fraction of the worth and interesting to budget-conscious shoppers or these searching for sustainability.

Smartphones are additionally usually among the many most desired gifts during the holiday season. The most recent fashions could also be out of attain for a lot of as a result of their excessive worth, so second-hand telephones current a extra inexpensive possibility for gift-givers.

Additionally, any individuals upgrade their smartphones through the vacation season, both as presents to themselves or as a result of they’ve acquired a brand new cellphone as a gift. This creates a secondary marketplace for pre-owned units as they promote or commerce of their outdated fashions.

The important thing drawback will not be understanding what situation these units will arrive in. To keep away from unwittingly exposing your self to cyber-risk, take outing to think about the next ideas.

What are the dangers of pre-owned telephones?

Because of persistently excessive rates of interest and inflation throughout a lot of the Western world, second-hand telephones are more and more commonplace. In truth, gross sales generated over $13bn globally within the first quarter of 2023 alone, up 14% yearly, in line with one estimate. In a mature market just like the UK, 1 / 4 of all telephones bought in 2023 have been reportedly second-hand or refurbished.

But this comes with sure cybersecurity dangers. These embody:

Outdated software program

Some units could now not be supported by the producer, that means the underlying working system doesn’t receive software updates. That’s unhealthy information from a safety perspective, because it signifies that when vulnerabilities are discovered by researchers or risk actors, your machine gained’t get a safety patch to repair it. It should successfully be uncovered to attackers. One 2020 study in the UK discovered that almost a 3rd of fashions being resold have been now not supported with safety updates.

Malware

In some instances, a earlier proprietor could even have (unwittingly or not) put in malicious software program on the cellphone. This can be designed to do a wide range of issues, from steal your private data and passwords to snoop in your calls and messages. It might even flood the machine with undesirable advertisements or subscribe you to premium-rate providers. The top objective is normally to earn a living ultimately off you, both by stealing private and monetary data to be used in fraud or digital extortion.

No refurbishment checks

Some pre-owned telephones could not have undergone the form of checks that respected second-hand sellers carry out to make sure they’re operational and working on a supported OS. This will expose you to among the dangers outlined above. 

The right way to keep away from cyber dangers on second-hand units

Mitigating these dangers takes a multi-pronged method, beginning with due diligence through the shopping for course of. That successfully means doing all of your analysis. Second-hand units can be found from all kinds of sources, from producers themselves to high-street retailers, telcos, and personal sellers. Put the time in to ensure the vendor has good evaluations and their provide is professional. A guaranty of not less than a 12 months needs to be a baseline requirement to make sure high quality.

It is also greatest to keep away from jailbroken or rooted units, as these could have had security measures disabled which make them extra uncovered to threats.

Additionally, solely select units which might be nonetheless supported by the producer; normally, phone-makers will assist a handset for not less than 2-3 years after it’s launched.

To additional mitigate safety dangers, take into account the next after buy:

• do a full manufacturing unit reset, wiping any knowledge that will have been left on the machine by the earlier proprietor, together with contacts, images, messages, searching historical past, passwords and apps,
• replace all of the software program on the machine after buying to the most recent, most safe model, and change on automated updates,
• hold an eye fixed out for tell-tale indicators that it is perhaps compromised with malware, comparable to undesirable pop-ups or advertisements, apps showing that you simply didn’t obtain, or sluggish efficiency and unusually excessive battery utilization,
• set up safety software program from a good supplier and have it scan the machine for threats.

As soon as your machine is up and working, take into account the next greatest practices to mitigate ongoing safety dangers:

• arrange a display screen lock and PIN, password, or biometric authentication (face recognition/fingerprint scan) for safe entry
• backup your knowledge and set to automated backups to the cloud in case the machine is misplaced or stolen
• delete any unused apps to attenuate your assault floor
• change on machine encryption for an additional layer of safety
• at all times use multi-factor authentication to entry your machine and any software program/accounts on it
• flip Bluetooth, tethering or Wi-Fi off when not in use, to keep away from eavesdroppers snooping round
• examine your app permissions – if some apps are requesting access to more than is necessary, that needs to be a crimson flag
• solely obtain apps from official app shops and from respected builders
• be looking out for phishing messages and emails. If unsure, by no means click on on hyperlinks or open attachments contained in these messages. All the time contact the supposed sender individually first, or open the message on a safer machine
• keep away from utilizing public Wi-Fi with out a VPN.

In case you’re nonetheless involved about your pre-owned cellphone exposing you to safety dangers, don’t entry any delicate data or accounts when utilizing it – comparable to cellular banking or syncing along with your company accounts. In truth, in case your employer permits BYOD handsets within the office, there could also be an extra algorithm and insurance policies it is advisable observe to make sure that your second-hand machine can be utilized. The dangers outlined above might be amplified if risk actors handle to make use of your handset as a stepping stone to succeed in company knowledge and methods.

That mentioned, there’s no motive why a pre-owned cellphone ought to trigger undue stress and safety danger, so long as you observe these greatest practices. And when you determine at hand it on to another person, keep in mind to perform a full backup, knowledge erasure and manufacturing unit reset.