Experts warn — check these dangerous data gaps on your phone

Smartphones pose a serious risk if they store documents, bank messages, and other confidential information. If the device is lost or hacked, fraudsters could use this data to access your money or perform financial transactions in your name. 

RadioTrek discusses which data should be deleted from your phone.

What phone data most often becomes "prey" for fraudsters?

Cybersecurity experts recommend regularly reviewing your phone's contents and deleting anything that could cause harm if your account or device is compromised. Messages and files containing personal and payment information are the most dangerous.

First, check your text messages and chat histories in messaging apps. The risk increases if you have messages containing full names, addresses, passport data, ID numbers, bank card details, PINs, or CVV/CVC codes. It is especially dangerous to save responses to security questions and one-time passwords from banks, payment systems, and other services.

They also recommend paying close attention to the gallery. Photos of your passport, ID card, or driver's license could be valuable to hackers. It is also not advisable to keep screenshots of conversations with banks or support services, images with confirmation codes, or photos of receipts and bills containing sensitive information.

An additional area of risk is notes and drafts. Experts warn against storing passwords and personal data notes, drafts, or messages "for yourself" because such records become easily accessible when an account is hacked or a device is lost. They recommend periodically reviewing and cleaning them.

After deleting data, it is important to empty the trash. It is also necessary to check backup copies in cloud storage, such as Google Drive or iCloud, to ensure that no duplicates of confidential files are left behind.

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