What do repairmen really do with our smartphones? To answer this question, Radio Canada journalists turned to several repair brands in Ontario, Canada, including independent stores, large franchises and even supermarket chains, to repair electronic devices: smartphones and computers.
They realized that most repairers had searched personal files that had nothing to do with the requested repair.
Tracking software
Before dropping off their devices, the journalists were tasked with attaching tracking software to record the repairers’ actions throughout the treatment. Some of them also placed fake intimate photographs in folders with evocative names, such as “bikini” or “lingerie.”
In one of the repair franchises of the Best Buy chain, an electronic equipment distribution chain that has more than 160 stores in Canada, the repairman accessed these files when there was nothing to justify it as part of the support charge. He then deleted the tracks from it, deleting files from the “recently opened” folder.
Without recording software, it would have been impossible to know that this technician had accessed the files. The company did not respond to questions from Radio Canada.
Big trademark
In two stores of the Canada Computers & Electronics chain, which has 42 stores in the country, the technicians acted in the same way. In addition, one of the two copied the intimate photographs on one of the computers onto a USB memory stick. Contacted by Radio Canada, the brand indicated that it was an “isolated incident” and that the technician in question had been “subject to disciplinary measures.”
In addition to these large chains, journalists left their devices at smaller stores, including local stores. In total, of the technicians from 16 brands contacted, 9 of them violated the privacy of their customers’ personal data.
To avoid this type of intrusion, there are several habits that should be adopted when handing over an electronic device for repair. In the best case, you will have to put it back to factory settings, after saving all your data to a cloud or another device. Using software to encrypt your files may also be an option.
Source: BFM TV
