Cell phone secrets revealed.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT - Brief article

Before a business sells or trades in its old cell phones or wireless devices, management might want to reconsider. Experts say the devices can hold all kinds of private corporate information--from private phone numbers and confidential corporate data to bank account numbers--and deleting it can be difficult.

Even resetting the phone before selling it offers no guarantees. According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the information remains on the phone and can be recalled with cheap software that can be purchased online.

The AP said cell phone upgrades happen on average about every 18 months, and most either give away or sell the old model. Experts say selling a used phone has become increasingly popular because the device can fetch hundreds of dollars.

Most current models, no matter which manufacturer makes them, store data on "flash" memory chips, which is the same technology used in digital cameras and some music players, the AP reported. Flash memory is inexpensive and reliable, but it is also slow to permanently...