Cell phones have grown to be so much more than a convenient tool for use in an emergency. In a multi-tasking society, they have become an ever-present companion on desk, in car and in hand. The devices have become our connection to the outside world.

People have come to depend on their cell phones not just for their function of communication, but for their recollection. The information stored in memory tells a lot about the user. It contains call logs, photos, short (SMS) messages, e-mails and phone numbers of personal and business contacts.

Lose a phone and a whole lot of valuable information is lost with it. With today’s technological advances, that need not be the case. Many small and reasonably-priced gadgets are available on the market that retrieve data stored on cell phone Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards for transfer to a personal computer.

Cell phone users can use SIM card readers to copy everything in the phone’s memory and back it up to PC. They can easily transfer data from one SIM card to another when switching phones or service providers.

Spouses, parents and business owners who want to keep track of a phone user will find SIM card readers helpful. They can get a history of phone numbers dialed, view the last numbers dialed, and read SMS messages. In many cases even deleted text can be retrieved, as long as it hasn’t been written over by a new file.

 Once it is downloaded, the names, phone numbers and text messages can be edited on the computer and also printed.

How SIM Card Readers Work

SIM card readers provide a window into someone’s activities. They are not eavesdropping, because there is no audio capture.

The units are about the size of a pack of gum and look similar to a normal USB flash drive. The user removes the SIM card from the phone and inserts it in the device to scan the chip. With the help of manufacturer’s software, the user downloads the data through a personal computer’s USB port. The data can be saved for later review or read immediately on the computer screen.

The phone user will not be able to detect that his phone’s memory has been copied.

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