Identity theft accounts for 29 percent of complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with an astounding 33 percent of Americans falling victim. The ever-growing issue became more prevalent in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic. 2.2 million cases were reported in 2020 alone, up 22 percent from the previous year. With the current popularity of pawning electronic items in today’s technology-driven society, there are steps every individual should take to protect themselves. In recognition of National Data Privacy Day, below are some tips to keep your personal data safe when pawning an item and the measures VA Premier Pawn takes to secure customer privacy. 

Always, always backup your data. Taking time to save all of the things that are wanted to be kept, such as photos, videos, documents, as well as personal usernames & passwords, ensures these things are not permanently lost once the device is demoted to factory reset. Data can be backed-up on a separate device or a portable hard drive.

De-couple from other accounts and devices. This means, if the potentially pawned item is a device such as a tablet or computer, make sure to unpair it from other devices, including accounts used for two-step authorization.

Log out of everything, and we mean everything! This includes social media and gaming applications, web browsers, iMessage for Apple users, storage and backup accounts like Dropbox, media and streaming services, and productivity and security software. It is also important to deauthorize the device from being associated with any personal account information. 

Once these steps have been taken, the device is ready for a hard reset; all data is secured, and you are now ready to visit your local pawn shop!

VA Premier Pawn takes extra precaution to protect customer data and privacy by completely wiping every device that comes through our doors as a pawn. Devices that are being kept on loan are kept locked in a safe and secure area. A team member will collect your device’s password during the pawn transaction so we can double-check the device has been properly wiped and secured – our customers’ safety is a top-priority, and this step solidifies we are doing what we can on our end to protect you, as well as alerts us to possible stolen merchandise.