Leaving Bluetooth on lets thieves pinpoint EXACTLY where you left your phone, police warn
THIEVES are scanning for Bluetooth signals to locate your gadgets before pinching them, police have warned.
Enterprising crooks use smartphone apps to pinpoint exactly where you're keeping an item – before making off with it.
Gadgets left in cars are being targeted in particular, police say.
That's because Bluetooth scanners can accurately identify a car with electronic goods inside.
Phones with Bluetooth left on work like a beacon, and can be identified by other smartphones.
Now police are warning drivers to turn Bluetooth off on devices left in vehicles – or avoid storing tech in cars altogether.
"You can almost pinpoint exactly wherever that Bluetooth is," said Detective Garrett Majors, of California's Fresno Police Department, speaking to .
"And more than likely, it's going to be an electronic device such as an iPad or MacBook or another cellphone."
It's really easy to turn Bluetooth off – simply go into your Settings app and toggle the switch.
Alternatively, switching your phone into Airplane Mode will also turn Bluetooth off.
Bluetooth is useful for lots of apps and accessories, so it's important to switch it back on again once you're reunited with your gadgets.
And police are warning drivers to be on high alert for suspicious people who might be using Bluetooth scanners in car parks.
"There are some people, auto burglars who actually detect that signal and target your car for that," said Sandra Avila, a San Jose police crime prevention specialist, speaking to .
"If you see someone walking around a parking lot, usually, they [criminals] don’t do that.
";But if they’re walking around, they’re on a bicycle, or they’re on a scooter, that’s suspicious. And so what we want is for someone to report that," said Avila.
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best...
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen (or swipe left to right on an iPhone X), then tap in the bar and type a currency (like $200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you're due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you're down to 80% capacity. If you're below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier
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In other news, a new Google Chrome trick reveals if your passwords have been hacked.
Cyber-experts recently warned that hackers could hijack your phone to inflict tinnitus, and even melt your gadgets using "sonic warfare".
New hacked iPhone cables let crooks completely hijack your gadgets.
Are you careful when it comes to cybersecurity? Let us know in the comments!
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