On average, Americans upgrade their cell phones every 18 months and get rid of their old ones by reselling, recycling, or donating them. However, today's cell phones contain much more than just contact numbers. The information present within these phones is easily accessible making it simple for you to fall victim to identity theft.

From private photos to bank account numbers, it is important to clear your old phone completely before donating it. According to CBSNews, removing the SIM and memory cards are the first step that you should take, but doing this will not suffice. It is critical to clear the phone from its internal memory so that all will be deleted.
Also, some phones have a reset option that will automatically delete all information off the phone. Remember to back-up anything you wish to save because once the reset button is pushed, everything is gone for good.

Promises Aren't Always Kept
Many companies that buy your old phones say that they'll erase all personal data, but many don't. It is imperative to clean yours out yourself to avoid any type of identity theft.

Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/25/earlyshow/
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