“About 3.1 million American consumers were victims of smart phone theft in 2013, Consumer Reports projects, based on our latest nationally representative survey of adult Internet users. That’s nearly double the number we previously projected had been stolen during 2012. The survey also projects that 1.4 million smart phones were lost and never recovered last year. Given how much personal information these devices contain—from photos, contacts, and e-mail accounts to social-networks, shopping, and banking apps—it’s understandable that you’d freak out if either misfortune happened to you. Still, there are steps you can take on any phone to guard against thieves. But many users are still not protecting themselves sufficiently, our survey found. As the infographic [see link following] shows, about one-third of the smart phone owners we surveyed recently said that they weren’t taking even the simplest measures to protect their phone and the data on it. (Download the infographic).”

• 5 steps to protect your smart phone from theft or loss. Also learn what to do when your phone goes missing and when you get it back.