Malaysian Telco Finds Ingenious Way to Prevent Phone Theft

If you’ve had like 4 or 5 mobile phones stolen this year, then you could use a beautiful laugh over DiGi’s video, ‘Latest innovation to keep smartphones safe: DiGi UndrCovr’.

When we eat out, we worry about putting our phones on the table in case thieves nick them while we’re too engrossed, appreciating the springy texture of our assam laksa noodles. And because we’re not anatomically gifted to be able to focus one eyeball on our food and the other on our phone, we’ve become accustomed to hiding our phones back into the safety of our handbags/manbags and pockets.

Aiya, but what if got message from my mother’s cousin’s back neighbour’s son-in-law? Very important la. Must reply! You say like that then watch this video lor.

And what’s so beautiful about the video?

The designs are so beautiful

DiGi’s UndrCovr are form AND function personified. The line-up includes:

Table flowers that’s actually a phone cover

A remote control that’s actually a phone cover

One side of a slipper that’s actually a phone cover

A rectangular frying pan that’s actually a phone cover

A packet of nasi lemak on a plate that’s actually a phone cover

A bowl of fish soup that’s actually a phone cover

A Lilo & Sunshine – what the freak are those? Buns? – that’s actually a phone cover

A toilet brush that’s actually a phone cover .

Other beautiful options

UndrCovrs would have been the talk of your social soirees and they would have kicked-butt at camouflaging your phones against the prying eyes of snatch thieves – had they been mass-produced! Unfortunately, DiGi’s UndrCovrs are limited edition and must be won, therefore not available in the market. Nor will they be announcing their release at a later date. But take heart, you can still camouflage your mobile phones with these 4 alternative phone covers. 1. Cold noodles

A food disguise is perfect for a restaurant setting. A bowl of noodles on the table? Nothing to steal here! Unless, what is a bowl of Japanese strapya cold noodles doing at a mamak? Buy yours here. 2. A piece of fuzz

Thieves will be tricked into thinking it’s nothing more than your flattened pet chinchilla. Buy yours here. 3. Ear

We’re really at a loss for words here (how ironic). Since thieves need to work with speed, when they run up to you, they wouldn’t immediately think of your ear as a disguised smartphone and attempt to snatch that. Buy yours here. 4. Notebook

Genius indeed! Cut a hole out of your notebook to fit your phone. You can buy a notebook in any bookstore.

Your phones are safe. That’s beautiful!

In the guise of an ear or your flattened pet chinchilla, these phone covers will fool even the most cracked, ninja thieves. Why do they want your phones? Because according to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Chairman, Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, stolen smartphones can be sold at half the retail price in the black market. And it’s not just a matter of the money you spent on the phone – although, given, you might weep for a few nights over the RM2,199 you spent. It’s also a matter of the phone’s connection to your every day life. They’re like our very own personal assistants. Malaysia has one of the highest smartphone penetrations in the world at 140%. We have 10 million users and only Singapore and Vietnam in Southeast Asia have higher mobile penetration than us.

You can beautifully eat in peace

With the phone covers, you can eat with your phone on the table in case you need to quickly reply a WhatsApp message or take a foodie photo of your chicken breasts. You don’t have to keeping drawing your phone out of your pocket like some cowboy out of a Clint Eastwood Western.

The government has a beautiful plan

MCMC has also launched an initiative with telcos to render stolen phones unusable within 3 hours of the owners reporting the devices missing. And even changing the SIM cards will not reactivate them.

“Yes, we are doing this. Many countries like the United States, Australia and Britain already have such a system in place. We got the consumers’ backing.” – Datuk Mohamed Sharil, The Star

Not only will this method discourage phone thefts, it will additionally assist the police to identify the thieves or anyone trying to reactivate the device. You can read all about how it works in the article.

There are also these beautiful apps to thwart theft

Besides big brother’s help, you can protect your own smartphone with these useful tips:

1. Save your data on the cloud

And constantly syncing your phone with the online backup system. But don’t la upload photos of your naked self on the cloud.

On Android, as long as you have a Google account when you first set up the phone, then it should already be synced. If you haven’t, then go to Settings > Accounts and see which apps you want to sync.

On the iPhone, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account and add whatever existing platform you use to maintain your contacts. If you don’t use any of these accounts, select iCloud. While you’re at it, you might as well download iTunes which enables you to sync your files and apps to a desktop or laptop.

Regardless of which platform you get, we would highly recommend also installing Dropbox, which syncs files and folders across all platforms.

2. Download these security apps

On the iPhone, the most popular app is a simple one developed by Apple themselves called Find My iPhone. It basically allows users to track their iDevice from any browser.

Most apps on the Android play store work similarly, allowing you to track your device, and remote-wipe it. Our favourite is Cerberus, which costs US$2.99 on the Android Play Store. Another very cool app is Prey, which is an open-source programme that tracks devices on iOS, Mac, Windows, Android and even Linux in one unified interface.

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So whichever way you choose to protect your baby – disguise, app, or all of the above – it’s a good idea to exercise caution. Don’t let theft be the reason you are out in the market looking for a new phone. Because when the time comes, you’ll want to find a new one for the most satisfying reason… when it falls out of your pocket and breaks.