10 Mobile Safety Habits Every Phone User Should Have

Your phone holds your contacts, your messages and access to your money, so good mobile phone safety is worth a few minutes of your attention. You do not need technical skills. You only need a handful of habits that become automatic. Here are ten to start with.

Ten habits for everyday mobile phone safety

1. Guard your PIN. Never tell your PIN to anyone, even someone you trust or someone who claims to be helping you. Choose one that is hard to guess.
2. Use official channels only. Buy airtime and pay for services only through channels you know are real. For TekeTeke, that is *831# or Paybill 7777727.
3. Verify before you pay. If a request for money arrives, from anyone, pause and check it through a second route, such as calling the person on their usual number.
4. Ignore unknown links. A link in a message from an unfamiliar number is not worth the risk. Delete it.
5. Slow down when something is urgent. Pressure to act "right now" is a classic warning sign.
6. Save your confirmations. Keep purchase and payment messages until you have checked that everything is correct.
7. Lock your phone. Use a screen lock so a lost or borrowed phone does not become an open door.
8. Check the number and the wording. Look closely at names, digits and spelling before sending anything.
9. Do not keep your PIN written on your phone. A note or contact saved as "PIN" defeats the purpose.
10. Talk about it. Tell family and friends what you learn, especially older relatives.

Why these habits work

Most scams do not break into phones. They persuade people. A caller sounds friendly, a message looks official, and a person acts before thinking. Every habit above gives you a moment to think.

If you want to know the specific tricks to watch for, read 7 red flags of airtime scams in Kenya.

Building phone safety into your routine

Habits stick when they are attached to something you already do. Try these pairings:

• Every time you buy airtime, glance at your confirmation message before you put the phone away.
• Every Sunday, delete old messages you do not need and check that your screen lock still works.
• Every time you share your phone with a child or relative, take it back and confirm nothing was bought or sent by mistake.

For help with mistakes that do happen, see airtime top-up mistakes to avoid and how to fix them.

Buying airtime the safe way

When it comes to airtime, keep things simple. Dial *831# on any phone and follow the prompts. It is free of charge to buy this way, it works on Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom and Faiba, and you receive instant transaction confirmation so you can check right away.

If you prefer, you can also pay through Paybill number 7777727 and follow the instructions. Learn more about how Paybill 7777727 works.

Pick two habits from this list and start today. Next time you top up with *831#, use it as a reminder to run through the rest.