Understand The Risks of Syncing Your Phone With a Rental Vehicle
BE AN INFORMED CONSUMER: During the holiday season many of us rely on rental cars to reach our destinations. With today’s technology making hands free calls, streaming music, and access to the internet so easy, it might be tempting to sync your phone with your rental car. Not so fast, the stored information on your mobile device can put you at risk for having your personal information stolen. It is possible for an unauthorized person to gain access to things such as your home address, contacts, and messages. Your name and navigation history is valuable personal information. Combine this with some open source intelligence, such as social media profiles, and it’s easy to track down an individual. If you use GPS in a rental to get home or to a loved one’s house a robber could find the address and even reveal your identity with this information. Lots of information can be saved when you connect to a car:
*GPS history
*Device Name
*Address Book
*In-Car internet search history
*Call Log and Text messaging
If you choose to sync your mobile device to a rental car protect yourself and take a few minutes to delete your data before returning the car. Go to the system settings or Bluetooth set up and delete your device from the paired phone list. Currently there are no government standards for infotainment systems and major car rental companies have no sensitive information policies in place. The threat may seem remote now but it’s better to be safe than sorry. So the next time you rent a car think twice before you sync your mobile device with the rental.