By Tim Jimenez

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – SEPTA officials say, on average, 39 cell phones were lost or stolen each month last year throughout their system. So they kicked off an imitative Friday to remind riders about steps they can take to protect themselves.

During the next month, if you take your eyes away from your phone for a minute, you may notice SEPTA Transit Police officers handing out blue slips of paper on your commute, like here at the 15th Street station in Center City.

“The SEPTA Police are trying to educate our riders on how to install an application that will assist the police in finding a lost or stolen phone,” explains SEPTA’s Chief of Police Thomas Nestell.

They recommend downloading a free “Find My Phone” app for either your Apple or Android device from iTunes of Google Play store. This app will help police help you.

“The whole point is to make those phones not so appealing to the criminal. We want the criminals to look at a phone and think, ‘Uh oh. Is that going to lead the police to my door?’”

He says so far this year, SEPTA reports a 41 percent dip in lost or stolen devices. But around the country, he says 113 phones are lost or stolen each minute.