SAN FRANCISCO, March 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prey Inc., provider of the cross-platform, open source anti-theft software that protects more than eight million mobile devices, today announced the results of the second edition of the Mobile Theft & Loss Report, which analyzes the data on lost and recovered device cases throughout 2019.
On this occasion the study reports a year-by-year increase in break-in device theft events, with Home Invasions and Business Break-ins cases increasing by +5.17% and +2.11 respectively; as well as a decrease in device theft and pickpockets, -1.88% and -1.65% respectively.
Another trend displayed is the increase of theft-related events in schools and universities. Pickpockets in educational institutions grew by +6.37%, whereas common robbery went up by +10.51%.
As for the type of locations affected, expectedly secure locations (Home, Offices, Schools) surpassed expectedly insecure ones (Street, Mall, Public Transport) in theft/loss events, with a distribution of 65.38% for secured locations and 34.62% for insecure ones. Moreover, there are six times more chances that a device owner is pickpocketed at a school, or at work, than in a bar. This, Prey reports, is due to the comfort and security expectancy users have in apparently secured locations, thus easing them into lowering their attention and alertness.
Prey has compiled the complete survey information in a free report, the Mobile Theft & Loss Report, which is available for download here.
Regarding the average time in which a device owner recovers a lost device, Prey reports an average of 4,6 days for a recovery, being the most common frequencies 1 minute, 1440 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, and 60 minutes.
The report goes on to conclude: “There is an early recovery-time gap, in which the user has higher chances of getting a lost device back within the first 24 hours. When that period is crossed, the chances of recovery fluctuate but more so the spread of the recovery time samples. Meaning that, if the device hasn’t been recovered after the first day, the estimated recovery time becomes unpredictable and ranges from 2 days, to the 1 year mark.”
Finally, by analyzing the content of each individual recovery story, the report identified a new category of attackers: opportunists. These are not the typical thieves, but individuals that share contextual relationships with the device owners (school, work, hobbies, family, friends). These actors commit device theft silently when the opportunity is presented, and their familiarity with the user gives them the benefit of low suspicion.
Methodology
The team behind the second edition of MTLR has reviewed the metadata of all recovery stories that users of the Prey software shared anonymously and publicly through the platform. On this occasion, the raw sample was reduced to 697 grouped and curated cases. Each case included the following anonymous data: type of event (theft or missing, and their different versions), the location where these events occurred, a brief story, recovery time, and information regarding the device type and responsibility for the event.
Interactive Resources
Read the second edition of Prey’s Mobile Theft & Loss Report.
About Prey Inc.
Prey Inc. is a software development company, provider of the Prey service: an anti-theft, data protection, device management and tracking platform for enterprise organizations with 10 years of experience in the market. It currently serves over 7 million users worldwide and protects more than 8 million laptops, tablets, and mobiles. Prey’s cross-platform, open-source security solution consolidates mobile device management on a single account, no matter how many different device manufacturers or operating systems need to be tracked.
Find out more at: www.preyproject.com.
Media Contact
Nicolas Poggi | Prey Inc. | Growth & Brand Manager
nico@preyhq.com
The Mobile Theft & Loss Report is available for download in pdf format here: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/38c1afad-e65a-4638-b5b0-1f1f6f93f8c5
