Most smartphone owners have their phones locked to prevent unauthorised access, with the oldest and most easy to understand method being the humble personal identification number (PIN).

Under this system, the smartphone owner sets a pin (usually four digits or more), and this pin must be entered to unlock the phone.

Phones are usually set to lock after being inactive for a short amount of time or if they're switched off.

This means that unauthorised access becomes very unlikely.

While PINS have served their purpose to date, they are still susceptible to someone either guessing them or even watching over your shoulder to copy them.

People also tend to use the same PIN (or password) for multiple purposes, so if someone knows your PIN, they can often unlock your smartphone as well as withdraw cash using your ATM card.

Given the issues that come with PINs, smartphone manufacturers instead came up with more sophisticated (but easy to use) ways of verifying your identity, with the most common being fingerprint scanners and facial recognition.

The most popular smartphones have had fingerprint scanners and facial recognition built in, and depending on the organisation (e.g. banks, government agencies), these methods can be used to access not just your smartphone but also third-party organisations via their own apps.

For individuals, switching to one of these security methods can greatly reduce exposure to financial fraud, which will no doubt be important to anyone who has suffered from identity theft or any other form of fraud.

These newer security methods can also have significant benefits for businesses.

They can greatly reduce the risk of fraud while also meeting the expectations of their customers, especially where a significant proportion of interactions are via an app.

If you'd like to discuss your personal or business security, contact me at albury@findex.com.au.