In my recent article about guarding against identity theft, experts say to protect your smartphone with a password. Also, avoid storing account numbers on a smartphone in case it's stolen.

Sounds good in theory, according to reader Michael M., but not if you have two personal checking accounts, four business checking accounts, and more than 250 passwords. What is a person to do, he asks?

First, make sure your phone is password protected, said Brian McGinley, senior vice-president of data management at Identity Theft 911 in Providence, Rhode Island. "If you feel you need to store account numbers, make sure that your smartphone encrypts the numbers. Apple and Android offer that," said McKinley.

If you have so many passwords that you need to store them in a phone, don't put them in a directory called "passwords." Choose something more distracting.

There is now an app on smartphones in which the owner can remotely destroy all data on the phone in case it is stolen or lost said Dianne Cutter, CEO of Asurency Protection in Chaska.

The one number to never store on a cell phone is a social security number, said Cutter.