By Sanrita Jasmine Madtha
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Aug 28: We may miss wearing a watch or forget to carry a wallet but it is unlikely that anyone misses carrying their mobile phone handsets along. People also find it easier to tuck in things including currency notes, chits, coins and keys inside the phone covers. Women in particular use their phone case as a mini wallet to keep a few things inside and most of them consider that it’s the safest place to tuck essentials. But this habit can prove to be quite dangerous especially if you tuck a few currency notes in the mobile cover.
Speaking to daijiworld,com, cyber law and security expert, Dr Ananth Prabhu G said, “In this digital era, from retail outlets to shopping malls everyone relies on digital transactions as it is the most convenient mode of transaction. But due to connectivity issues and other technical errors people carry cash along with them especially inside the phone case which is quite risky which people are unaware of.”
Dr Ananth Prabhu G
Dr Prabhu cautions about the risks. He says, “Beware of the risk. Continuous usage of smart phones and also charging can heat up your phone. In this situation one should avoid keeping any inflammable objects in the phone case specially notes or currencies as those can increase the risk of catching fire. This is because paper money is made up of flammable material called cellulose. And also if the phone case is tight at the back, heat cannot escape resulting in the explosion of the phone or causing damage to the phone. Keeping a note can make the phone cover even tighter and make it susceptible to fire.”
“Also, one should also avoid keeping credit cards, debit cards or any other cards with magnetic strips behind the phone covers because the magnetic field from the phone can demagnetise the strips and render the cards unusable,” he says.
There is another reason as to why one should not keep any notes in the phone case and that is the worry of losing your phone to robbers or thieves. A user not only loses the money but also his mobile phone handset. If you keep a few things inside the phone cover it can also endanger the lives of people.
Dr Prabhu says it is advisable to store money in a different wallet or purse. “This measure can safeguard your money and your phone from getting robbed or stolen. If you opt to store money alongside your phone then it is better to purchase a phone wallet case or a magnetised wallet that can be affixed at the back of your device. For storing cards, consider purchasing RFID blocking wallets to avoid the misuse.”