The money saving expert has issued the advice to prevent mobile phone users from experiencing a ‘nightmare’

Martin Lewis has urged mobile phone users to dial a five digit code now – and screen grab the result.

The money expert provided the advice to his ITV viewers on Tuesday night after revealing that phone thefts have soared by 40%, with robbers targeting people’s financial information using their mobiles.

He advised people to take action immediately to protect their handset from being accessible if it is stolen and reduce the risk of thieves emptying your bank account using your phone.

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Martin urged people to change key settings on iPhone, Samsung and Google phones to protect them, including text message settings and shared a five-digit code you need to call.

Martin stated on his March 11 Martin Lewis Money Show Live episode: “Mobile security tips – thefts are up 40% in London but they’re going up right across the country too.

“Now the crucial thing, they’re not just trying to nick your phone, some of them are trying to access your financial data from your phone,” he continued.

“You have to protect yourselves on this, folks.”

Martin urged people to use remote tracking apps to locate your phone if it’s stolen, such as Find My on Apple and SmartThings on Samsung or Find My Device on Google’s Android, and suspend payments.

You should also enable biometrics – such as fingerprint ID sign-in – on both your phone and your banking apps, Martin said – and email yourself a screenshot after dialling a code.

Martin added: “Now, this one sounds a bit weird. Dial *#06# to get your IMEI image then screengrab and save it.

“That is what you’re gonna need to give to police if your phone is stolen. Screen grab it and assuming you can access your email not just on your phone, I would just email it to yourself so you’ve got a copy somewhere.”

Finally, Martin added that ‘possibly the most important’ tip is to make sure two-factor authentication cannot appear on your lock screen.

He said: “Many people have that appear on their lock screen so when your phone’s locked, the code still appears. You don’t want that.

“It means if someone gets your phone they can get the code.

“So what you need to do to stop that is turn off your ‘preview notifications’.

“It will still tell you you’ve had a message but it won’t tell you your code on your message.

“Everybody please do that one. It’s a nightmare if you’ve not done it.”

The Martin Lewis Money Show Live March 11 episode is still available to watch via ITVX.