In my line of work I get emails such as this one: “Hi Robert, I’m not sure if you saw what had happened on my Facebook page last night, but someone stole my cell phone while I was at a concert, and posted all of my naked pictures off of my phone and posted them to my wall. They were up there for hours.”

Apparently if you are under the age of 40 this is common place. After the age of 40, not so much.

My response: “Horrible lesson learned. And, ahm, maybe no naked pics on your phone? Jeesh. Digital is forever.”

Her response: “That’s what everyone keeps telling me, I should’ve deleted them. Just never thought someone would do that. They could’ve just taken the phone, they didn’t have to embarrass me like that.”

The problem is “they” don’t just look to embarrass someone, they try to sell them, and in some cases extort the victim. We must remember some people aren’t looking to play nice.

The NY Post reports, ““Personal” photos of stunning actress Sofia Vergara have been put up for sale after being allegedly stolen from her fiancé Nick Loeb’s BlackBerry. The sexy pictures, which we’re told are personal in nature but are not nude images, were somehow hacked or stolen from Loeb’s phone before the couple got engaged in July.”

In both of these situations just simply locking the device would solve this issue.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you lost your mobile phone? For a lot of us, it can also be a nightmare if it’s lost, stolen or hacked, especially since an untold amount of people are using their mobiles like a bedroom accessory.

But despite the fact that 1/2 of us would rather lose our wallet than our mobile phone, only 4% of us have taken steps to protect our mobile device with security.

We don’t realize that our photos, emails, text messages and our apps can be an open door for thieves into our personal information, privacy and financial accounts.

Mobile devices are on the move, meaning they can more easily be lost or stolen and their screens and keyboards are easier targets for “over the shoulder” browsing. Below are some tips to protect you and your device.

Never leave your phone unattended in a public place

Put a password on your mobile

Set your phone to auto-lock after a certain period of time

When doing online banking and shopping, always log out and don’t select the “remember me” function

Use mobile device protection that provides anti-theft

Mobile device protection can be used to backup and restore the information on your phone, as well as remotely locate it and wipe data in the case of loss or theft. Plus mobile device protection offers as virus and web and app protection.