Is Mobile Phone Insurance sufficient to protect mobile phones?

The federal government last Tuesday (19) launched the Celular Seguro program, which involves blocking banks, operators and stolen or stolen applications on smartphones. The promise is that the service will help combat the most common property crimes currently in Brazil.

The tool is available in web version and app format for Android and iOS mobile phones. To gain access, the user must use the gov.br account, register the phone number and information of trusted contacts who can block the victim on behalf.

Currently, the venture’s partners include Anatel, Banco Pan, Banco Inter, Sicoob, Caixa, Itaú, BTG Pactual, XP, Santander, Banco do Brasil and Bradesco.

The promise of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), which is responsible for the program, is that Uber, Mercado Livre and Nubank will join the initiative soon.

Despite being fairly new, Celular Seguro has been viewed very favorably by Brazilians. But will the system be enough to reduce phone theft in Brazil?

Important initiative for Brazil

Celular Seguro is an initiative that “answers a hidden problem in the country,” says Eduardo Santos, director of enterprise market solutions at Samsung Brazil. In this case, it refers to the epidemic of robbery and device theft.

According to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, 508.3 thousand robberies and 490.8 thousand mobile phone thefts were recorded last year, for a total of nearly 1 million incidents. The figures represented an increase of 16.6% compared to 2021.

Santos praised the program, arguing that it would be easier for users to report the “accident.” “No solution is completely secure, because we know that everyone who works with it will try to find loopholes. But security consists of layers, and the more layers there are, the more protected the person is,” he said.

He added that the service has the potential to reduce the number of phone thefts. “The device can basically be used for export or as a device to be used only over Wi-Fi,” he argued.

On the other hand, Santos underlined that Samsung does not yet have all the details about the service. According to him, the federal government has not discussed partnering with the company, for example.

Another point emphasized by the South Korean spokesperson is that it is not yet clear how the bank and operator accounts will be unblocked if the phone is found or recovered.

“As with all security tools, we will continue to test Celular Seguro internally to fully understand its functionality. But initially we are also interested in knowing how to prevent someone from changing the user’s password on gov.br and how to ensure that the IMEI cannot be activated by others,” he emphasized.

Brazil’s complex scenario

HE TecMundo Débora Renno, Motorola’s global B2B product manager, spoke with Diamantino. The executive chose not to comment on Celular Seguro or whether the federal government has contacted the brand about participating in the program.

Regarding public safety issues in Brazil, he said the country presents a complex scenario that is difficult for foreigners to understand.

“Normally when you talk to people outside Brazil, they don’t understand much. [Os crimes no país] “These are very typical situations here,” he analyzed.

Saying that the local scenario is quite specific, Diamantino reminded that Motorola’s security solutions are also widely used in places such as India and the USA.

Other security solutions for your mobile phone

Although the Samsung executive praised the federal government’s initiative, he emphasized that Celular Seguro alone would not protect Brazilians’ devices.

The director of solutions for the South Korean enterprise market argued that to truly protect a smartphone, it is important to use everything available in terms of security.

Recalling the company itself, it defended the use of Galaxy Padlock, a paid subscription service that locks the phone in case of robbery or theft. At a cost of R$39.99 for one year or R$59.99 for two years, Santos argued that “the value is too low compared to the benefits it provides.” Moreover, according to him, no increase in the subscription price is foreseen.

Débora Renno Diamantino commented on Moto Secure, a hub that centralizes security options for Motorola smartphones. The app was launched in early 2023 and currently has over 25 million installs.

“We are still aiming for further growth as we build the app into the mobile phones we launch and devices that are being updated. [de software]. “The application is carried out with standards from the lowest layers to ensure that the maximum security potential of the mobile phone is used,” he said.

For those without a Samsung or Motorola mobile phone, check out other security solutions that can be combined with Celular Seguro below:

iOS

iPhones have systems like Secret Folder and Security Checkup that show what is shared with whom. The user can, for example, decide whether to stop sharing information.

The brand’s mobile phones and other devices also have access to encryption through tools like Data Vault, which helps protect information from unauthorized access.

Stolen, stolen or lost devices can be continued to be searched on the map using the Search system. If Find My iPhone is turned off, users can check how to protect their Apple accounts by visiting this website.

Android

Mobile phones with Google operating system, such as Xioami, Huawei, Poco, Asus and other manufacturers, have their own solutions, but also have tools. The “Find your smartphone” tool allows you to, for example, track a mobile device, delete data, block and beep. If the model is Android, the service also allows you to delete all data.

But to do all this, you must have a registered Google account and your lost mobile phone must be turned on, GPS enabled and have a 4G or 5G connection.