Senior News Line: How to protect your phone from hackers

If you’ve had a cell phone for several years and are now quite comfortable using it, you might be tempted to add more functions and fun to it to make it handier and more valuable to you. However, there needs to be a line drawn somewhere.

Beware the types of apps you install on your phone. App is short for “application,” and it’s thought there are nearly 9 million different apps in the world.

The thing to ask yourself before you add any app is this: If technology experts who run large computer systems struggle to keep those systems safe from scammers around the world, how much success are the techs at your bank or grocery store likely to have with cell phones?

The more apps you have on your phone, the more at risk you are. Clicking the wrong thing on an app, or even downloading it, can install malware on your phone.

At the very least, it can send your number back to scammers. Armed with only your active phone number, they can do a reverse search for you on white pages and potentially find your home address and then your banking information and much more.

They can lock you out of social media, barrage you with scam text messages and calls, have all your calls forwarded to another number or lock you out of your phone until you pay a ransom.

They can send scam messages that appear to have come from you. If you access email on your phone, your area of risk widens substantially.

Some suggestions from the Federal Trade Commission to keep your phone safe:

• Lock it. Depending on the brand you have, used a passcode or a screen lock.

• Keep the software updated.

• Back up your data. Learn about backing up to the “cloud” or your computer.

• And before you add any app to your phone, ask yourself if you trust it.