Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to mobile phone users, advising them to change a crucial setting immediately to protect against theft and fraud. During his Money Show Live, Lewis responded to a viewer's question about securing bank apps if a phone is stolen, emphasizing that biometrics alone are insufficient.
Lewis recommended enabling biometrics for both phone unlocking and banking apps, and suggested dialling *#06# to retrieve the phone's IMEI number, which should be screenshotted and provided to police if the device is stolen. He also stressed the importance of turning off preview notifications to prevent one-time codes from appearing on the lock screen.
The warning comes as mobile phone theft rises, with around 80,000 phones stolen in London last year. MPs have criticised tech firms for failing to block stolen devices from accessing cloud accounts overseas, with one operation allegedly trafficking up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.
Lewis advised users to download tracking apps—'Find My' for Apple and 'SmartThings' for Android—to locate devices and disable payments remotely. He noted that while this doesn't prevent resale, it reduces the risk of data access.
