Tech savy theiving

[spincast]

Food for thought

Checked on Snopes and most of theses are either fully or partially validated....
NOT ALL THIEVES ARE STUPID

1. LONG-TERM PARKING

Some people left their car in the long-term parking at Windsor while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Essex and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should NOT leave our registration/insurance cards in it, nor the remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.

2. GPS:

Someone had their car broken into while they were at a hockey game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the arena and specially allotted to hockey fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the hockey game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean
out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents. Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
3. CELL PHONES:

I never thought of this! This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says, "I received your text asking about our PIN number and I
replied a little while ago." When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text "hubby" in the contact list and got hold of the PIN. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account. ( my edit ---I find this one a bit too much? Really you forgot your PIN at the bank and it was open - but who knows - )

MORAL OF THIS STORY
a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc. b. And, very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back. c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet "family and friends" who text you.

4. PURSE IN THE GROCERY CART SCAM:
A lady went grocery-shopping at a local mall and left her purse sitting in the child seat of the cart while she reached something off a shelf. Wait till you read the WHOLE story! Her wallet was stolen, and she reported it to the store personnel. After returning home, she received a phone call from the Mall Security to say that they had her wallet and that although there was no money in it, it did still hold her personal papers. She immediately went to pick up her wallet, only to be told by Mall Security that they had not called her. By the time she returned home again, her house had been broken into and burgled. The thieves knew that by calling and saying they were Mall Security,they could lure her out of her house long enough for them to burgle it.

[davey buoy]

Great read,pretty smart now aren't they?.That last one was the killer. I would do the same.Thanks for posting Rick. A lot of lessons to be learned here !!

[crappieperchhunter]

I don't have a cell phone and I don't have a GPS in my car. I don't use Long term parking and I have never owned a purse. More importantly I don't think I have many material things others would want to steal. Guess I'm safe for now

 

Good points to bring up though, so thx for sharing. It certainly gives you something to think about.

[Steve]

Yah, the GPS + Garage Door Opener can really hurt when your vehicle is stolen.

[Joey]

Very interesting, thanks for posting this. Things I never would have thought of.

 

I have great neighbours and we always tell each other when we will be away and to keep an eye out for anyone who may show up if we are not there etc. Luckily my neighbour from across the street is an ex police officer and he's retired and always in his front yard hanging out

 

So my advice is to make friends with your neighbours too

[SirCranksalot]

re GPS---That's easy to fix. I used the 'browse map' function to select the location for "Home". When I hit Home it provides directions to my street but not to my house.

[ketchenany]

I had a family member that owned a flower shop and brought his van home at night, when the van was gone so was he and his wife (at the shop)

They drove up with a truck, broke in the back door opened the garage and backed the truck back in and closed the door. They took everything they could carry.

[porkpie]

re GPS---That's easy to fix. I used the 'browse map' function to select the location for "Home". When I hit Home it provides directions to my street but not to my house.

As long as they can't drive down your street pressing your garage door opener until they get the right house, your good to go. Otherwise, make "home" a couple streets over!

[quickme]

if you park in long term make sure you take your ticket with you. In order to leave the parking lot you must have your ticket, if not the parking attendant takes down you plates and drivers licence. Its not fool proof of course. Maybe lock your glove compartment? Ejection seat triggered by non conforming butt pattern?

[wormdunker]

Good info - thanx