Protect Your Data: Format Your Phone Before Selling & Use Authorized Stores
Incident in Bharatpur, Rajasthan:
In March 2024, a young man sold his old mobile phone to a street vendor in exchange for groceries. A few days later, he received a call from an unknown number where he was blackmailed. The young man couldn’t understand how the caller obtained such personal and sensitive information about him.
Similar Case in Agra, Uttar Pradesh:
A similar case emerged from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, where a young man sold two old, dead mobile phones to a vendor in February 2024 in exchange for kitchenware. Later, using those phones, a person from Devas, Madhya Pradesh, demanded ₹20,000. During the police investigation, it was discovered that the mobile phones were registered in the name of the Agra resident.
Method of Cyber Thieves:
Cybercriminals purchase old, faulty mobile phones from vendors. They repair these phones and then use them for cyber scams and blackmailing.
Dangerous Nature of Cyber Fraud:
This method of cyber fraud is very dangerous because it makes it difficult for the police to trace the cybercriminals. When a victim reports the fraud to the police, they can only reach the original owner of the phone through the IMEI number.
Precautions When Selling Old or Faulty Mobile Phones:
Today, we will discuss the precautions to take when selling old or faulty mobile phones and learn:
- How cybercriminals can misuse old phones
- How to format phone data
- Expert: Rahul Mishra, Cyber Consultant (Uttar Pradesh Police)
Question: What kind of details do cybercriminals steal from mobile phones?
Answer: Cyber consultant Rahul Mishra explains that every phone contains personal information such as photos and videos. When old phones are damaged, many people do not repair them due to the high cost, which is often more than the phone’s actual value.
In such cases, when defective phones fall into the hands of cybercriminals, they repair them and recover data such as photos, videos, and contact numbers. They then blackmail the original owner by extracting personal sensitive information or use the phone with a new SIM for criminal activities.
Question: How does the network of cybercriminals operate?
Answer: Cybercriminals target people in villages and small towns through vendors. They lure people by offering fruits, vegetables, plastic items, or kitchenware and buy old, faulty phones at very low prices.
Question: What precautions should be taken when selling a faulty mobile phone?
Answer: Cyber advisor Rahul Mishra advises that if your mobile phone is very old and not functioning well, recover the data from the old phone before buying a new one. After that, reset the old phone to ensure that all data is completely wiped.
If the phone is completely damaged and cannot be repaired, avoid selling it as hackers might recover its data.
Question: Where can you sell old mobile phones?
Answer: Today, there are several authorized online stores where you can sell old mobile phones for a reasonable price after data formatting. Additionally, selling phones through authorized online stores has the advantage that both the seller and buyer’s information is recorded.
- OLX: Widely used for selling old phones. You can upload a photo of your phone and easily find buyers.
- Cashify: An online website that helps sell old mobile phones at a fair price and offers free pickup service.
- Quikr: Provides clear payment gateways for both buyers and sellers, making transactions easier.
- Amazon: A popular e-commerce platform that also offers a service to sell old mobile phones. You can check the exact price by visiting the mobile phone section.
Question: How to format an old phone?
Answer: The method to reset Android smartphones from various brands is almost the same. Here’s how to reset an Android smartphone:
- Go to ‘Settings’ on your phone.
- Scroll down in Settings and select ‘Backup and Reset.’
- Click on ‘Factory Data Reset.’
- After this, your phone’s data will be completely reset.
