Don't Get Your Phone Stolen

Especially if it is paired with your primary Twitter account. Learned this lesson the hard way today as I got distracted while leaving for Dallas and SVG's tech summit. Finished a call while pumping gas and put the phone on the top of the car. Went inside to get change to air up a tire. Pulled away from pump to air the tire.

One of two things happened. The phone got lifted while I walked into the convenience store or fell off the roof when I drove across the lot to the air pump. And got lifted there.

I remember a group of five young guys walking across the pump area, and they were hooting to each other about something. Maybe a joke. Maybe the phone they just found. Either way, when I realized what had happened about a block away and circled back -- no phone turned in to the attendant, no debris of a falling phone on the ground (which makes me think it got stolen off the top of the car while I got change), no debris in the lot, near the air pump.

Immediately, I called in to our phone person, left a message and said cut off the phone. Last call I made was at this time. And since that person didn't answer, left a message in three other places. About an hour later, got a call back that the phone was being reported stolen and the number locked.

Unfortunately, not so much. The very unfortunate Tweet hit our feed about 80 minutes or so after the phone went missing. We jumped to delink the phone -- my #1 lesson of the day for all followers of the blog is while your changing all those passwords, don't forget the linked phone doesn't need passwords -- and reset the passwords again for good measure.

Apologies again here and quick apologies sent on the same feed -- I think most people understand the hacking prank nature of this event. Have had at least one person joke that well, you've broken your own SNW policy. That will seem funny later.

Right now, I'm still trying to fathom not the theft of the phone -- I get that, they're currency -- but the sheer randomness of sending out texts to random people -- including Twitter -- for fun. Not thinking that could cost someone their job. Not thinking how that impacts lives. Just seems fun without consequence at the moment.

In spite of the assurances that the number was shut off, I know that the phone was still active as late as 4:20 this afternoon when whoever has it sent a similar obscene text to my son, who was texting me unknowing that the phone was stolen. He called my other phone to say, hey, why did you tell me to $$$$ off when I texted you.

Again, fun and games until somebody gets hurt.

I'd like to think whoever has the phone is like folks who send in really hateful emails to customer service; not thinking there is a human that reads those emails or in this case, a person who will be adversely affected by their "joke."

Guess what kids -- it ain't a joke.