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What's The Chance Of Getting A Lost Cellphone Back?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business is 50-50.

Those are the odds you'll ever see your lost cell phone again. That's according to a study by a security firm, the people behind the Norton AntiVirus software. The company set up an experiment where they purposely lost smartphones in public areas, you know, elevators, shopping centers, airports, places you may have left your phone at some point.

Almost everybody who found the phones checked the contacts. You know, details where the owner were easy to find, little notations on the phone. But only half those people then actually tried to contact the owner of the cell phone.

And there's something a little more worrisome too. More than 40 percent of the people who found these phones tried to log into the phone's online banking app.

And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.