This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube video titled "Selling Second Hand Devices Can Result in Identity Theft for @McAfeeConsumer" (KHOU 11 News) published July 24, 2012. It is a TV news segment/report by Andrew Horansky that includes interviews with Paul Rouse (owner of Fix Your Gadget) and quotes findings from McAfee security expert Robert Siciliano. The report describes an investigation of secondhand phones and computers bought online (Craigslist/eBay), finding sensitive leftover data (Social Security numbers, bank and credit card info, usernames/passwords, porn, even viruses) on many devices, and offers advice to securely wipe or physically destroy devices (references blanco.com) to avoid identity theft.
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Before you get rid of your old phone to get the latest and greatest, beware. You may be giving away more than you know.
A security expert showed us just how easy it is to find personal details left on old cell phones.
Here's our Andrew Horansky.
These days, your old smartphone can earn you fast cash.
Used phones these days can, can go anywhere from $100 up to, uh, $200, $250.
Money more people are using to trade up for newer ones. But at Fix Your Gadget in Memorial City, owner Paul Rouse says some owners may be selling too fast, parting with more than just their device.
What we find is people don't take a lot of actions to erase their personal data.
Leaving personal information behind without knowing it after they think it's deleted.
Even if it looks clean, it can still be scraped for data by third-party softwares, people that do that for a living.
Scary news at a time when phones are practically replacing computers.
Yeah, I actually really don't like computers. I like it a lot better. It's a lot easier for me. If I lost my phone, I would cry. Like, literally, I would cry.
Some analysts predict that by 2020, smartphones will hold much of what we have in our wallets today. Some people may not even realize how much they have in them already.
We wanted to see what kind of data we could find on secondhand devices off of Craigslist and eBay.
Working with McAfee, online security expert Robert Siciliano recently recently looked at the contents of 30 phones and computers purchased online. He found half of them still had secure information, porn, even viruses, after previous owners supposedly scrubbed them.
We found people's Social Security numbers, bank account information, credit card numbers. We found usernames and passwords.
Siciliano also discovered that the easiest devices to scrub were iPhones and BlackBerrys, while Windows XP machines, netbooks, and Android sometimes held on to information after settings were restored. His advice for someone selling a device now: don't risk it.
I would destroy that.
I would drill holes through it.
I would smash it with a sledgehammer. It varies by model.
Back at Fix Your Gadget, Rouse said owners should not be so nervous. At the same time, he recommended the software blanco.com as an additional line of defense. Andrew Horansky, KHOU 11 News.
And if you want to clear your phone, we will put a link to blanco.com on our website, khou.com.
