Mobile security tips.

Most people now own a mobile phone. Be sure that you get full enjoyment from yours by reading our personal safety tips below:

Don’t respond to bullying	Keep your identity secure
Respect yourself when a phone’s about	Keep your handset secure
Be careful browsing mobile internet	Download appropriate content
Always read the small print	Be cautious making friends online
STOP premium rate services	Links
Our commitment to your safety	Illegal content

Don’t respond to bullying

Bullying can happen to all sorts of people at all stages of life. If you receive unpleasant calls, texts, multi media messages or emails through a mobile phone the best advice is not to respond.If the bullying is persistent, tell a parent, school teacher, manager or the police. Don’t delete nasty messages – they will be needed as evidence. In extreme cases we can change your number if you call our Contact Centre.

Keep your identity secure

To avoid nuisance calls and bullying, be careful who has your number. In addition, don’t leave your name on your voicemail as it confirms your identity.

Respect yourself when a phone’s about

When there is a handset about don’t do anything which you’d be embarrassed or humiliated to see recorded and shown to others.

Think very carefully about sending a photo or video of yourself to someone else – it could fall into the wrong hands.Turn off Bluetooth on your phone if you don’t want to share content with strangers.Keep your handset secure

Don’t leave your mobile handset lying around. A handset is a valuable item which should be kept at all times in a secure place. Your handset could get stolen, used to access stored information or to contact someone in your name.

To reduce the threat of misuse, use your handset’s locking mechanism, change it from the default setting (often 0000) and don’t share the new code. You should also record the phone’s unique IMEI number (you can obtain this 15 digit code by typing *#06# into your mobile phone). You can also mark your phone with your post code to help police identify it if found.

When out and about, be sensible about using your phone. Your handset is a valuable item, so don’t flash it around in an unsecure environment or leave it in an unlocked car – keep it on your person and out of sight.

If your phone is lost or stolen call the Police and Sure immediately. We are able to blacklist your phone so it cannot be used on our network and then can activate the handset again if it is recovered. The police can request that other island operators block the handset as well. When calling us our staff will need to establish that you are the owner of the phone – we can only act on the request of the owner or police.

For extra security, insure your handset. If it is stolen, reporting it to the police will help with the claim.

Be careful browsing mobile internet

Sure’s high speed mobile internet provides access to the whole world wide web through a mobile phone. If you are a parent we suggest you discuss with your child the sort of content which you’d be unhappy for them to access.

If you want to stop a minor from accessing high speed mobile internet, please telephone our Contact Centre or pop into any Sure store.

We regularly check searches made through our Sure Live! mobile internet homepage and will report any possibly criminal activity to the police.

Download appropriate content

Our Sure Live! mobile internet portal offers a range of games, ringtones and wallpapers which are suitable for all ages. However, other mobile internet sites have content which may not be appropriate to under 18s.

If you are a parent, we encourage you to talk to your child about the content they have downloaded and encourage them to show you their favourite mobile game so you can judge whether it is appropriate.

Always read the small print

Before you sign up for premium content services, ensure you know what is involved – charges can mount up very quickly. Children should always seek the permission of an adult before accessing premium rate content on a landline, mobile phone or via a PC.

Be cautious making friends online

It’s great to meet new friends from across the planet, but not everyone has good intentions.

Don’t give out your mobile number, messenger ID, photo, email address, physical address and especially debit and credit card details over text or whilst chatting through high speed mobile internet.

If your online friend wants to become an offline friend, neither children nor adults should meet them alone. Sadly, some people active online cannot be trusted. Arrange to meet in a very public place and take a friend of family member along for support.If you are a young person and feel uncomfortable about an online relationship, tell a family member and/or you can report online child abuse. If you are a parent, we encourage you to talk to your child about chat rooms to understand that not all of them are appropriate environments for young people.

STOP premium rate services

If you have signed up to a premium rate subscription (for example to a mobile ringtone provider) and no longer want to receive that service, try texting STOP to the sender. This will stop the service if that short code is registered on our system. Grumble text has more information about how to deal with unwanted premium rate services.

Links

Stoptextbully – tips to make a text bully stop
Cyberbullying – advice about dealing with bullies using technology such as mobiles and the internet
CEOP - Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
Thinkuknow – great sites for children of different ages, parents and teachers with information about online culture and safety
Childline – anti-bullying and child abuse charity (also call 0800 1111)
Crimestoppers – call 0800 555 111 if you have information about stolen mobile phones or any other crimes. You could receive a reward

Illegal content

Sure will block our customers from viewing illegal content. Illegal web sites will include: child sex abuse images hosted anywhere in the world; criminally obscene content; web sites with content which may incite racial hatred or incidents of inappropriate chat or behaviour with or towards a child online.

Our concern is with protecting Sure customers from accidentally viewing content which may upset and/or offend them. In addition please note that it is a criminal offence to view illegal content. Sure Broadband neither monitors, nor censors users wishing to view adult content. We will only block illegal sites and will not add any other content filters onto our service.