‘Applepicking’ meant to describe the growing violent street crimes involving smartphone theft. After stealing the phones, the thieves wipe clean the devices' memories and then resell them on the secondary market for hundreds of dollars.
‘Applepicking’ meant to describe the growing violent street crimes involving smartphone theft. After stealing the phones, the thieves wipe clean the devices' memories and then resell them on the secondary market for hundreds of dollars./

A Consumer Risks Survey conducted by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs and B2B International reveals that over three-quarters (77 percent) of respondents reported their devices lost or stolen, and that the cost associated with the loss of a device extends well beyond the device itself. The report revealed that 48 percent stored account information such as user IDs or passwords, 28 percent stored financial data, and over a quarter (27 percent) had their accounts hacked with 19 percent having their financial credentials used.

Users aged 16 to 24 reported their devices stolen missing or stolen twice more than those in older age groups, putting them at greater risk of data stored in their phone being misused. 

Calling users' devices "connected treasure chests" for hackers, the report revealed that apart from misuse of passwords, account credentials and financial data, one in five (20 percent) suffered consequences at their workplace for losing their devices. Personal and private data such as photos, videos and messages topped the list of things stolen, at 88 percent. The report also revealed that 23 percent recycled the same passwords across accounts.

What is worrying about the data is the fact that 11 percent of the respondents took no action when they discovered that their device was missing and only 29 percent remotely wiped the data on their devices.

According to the report, the median cost of replacing user data is roughly $682, but when the cost of the device, which could be a smartphone or even a user's laptop is factored in, the total cost has the potential to easily exceed $1,000.