All theives are not stupid!
04-11-2013, 03:01 AM
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: NE of Fort Worth
Posts: 2,456
All theives are not stupid!
NOW HEAR THIS...NOT ALL THIEVES ARE STUPID!!
1. LONG-TERM PARKING
A friend of a friend left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose and while away, 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 Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should not leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.
2. GPS.
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football 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 football 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. MOBILE PHONES
I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. 20
minutes later when she called her hubby rom a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've 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 When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.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 number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson:
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.
*PLEASE PASS THIS ON
* I never thought about the above!
As of now, I no longer have 'home' listed on my cell phone.
Even if this does not pertain to you....Pass it on to your family and friends.
1. LONG-TERM PARKING
A friend of a friend left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose and while away, 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 Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should not leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.
2. GPS.
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football 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 football 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. MOBILE PHONES
I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. 20
minutes later when she called her hubby rom a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've 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 number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson:
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.
*PLEASE PASS THIS ON
* I never thought about the above!
As of now, I no longer have 'home' listed on my cell phone.
Even if this does not pertain to you....Pass it on to your family and friends.
04-11-2013, 06:24 AM
#4
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Outside St. Louis
Posts: 38,181
Our oldest Granddaughter left her Smart phone at a dept. store. She had a password on it that made it impossible to use. She got it back, found laying somewhere other than where she left it. Since it was useless to the possible thief they didn't want it.
I have heard of all the other stuff. I don't think of thieves being smart. I believe it is easier for them to steal others 'stuff' then to get a job and earn money to buy their own. So many more opportunities to steal info and 'stuff'.
I have heard of all the other stuff. I don't think of thieves being smart. I believe it is easier for them to steal others 'stuff' then to get a job and earn money to buy their own. So many more opportunities to steal info and 'stuff'.
04-11-2013, 02:32 PM
#5
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: home again, after 27 yrs!
Posts: 19,388
I do have my garage door opener in my car, not my purse. but I have my registration and insurance info in my wallet, not my car. so no address, no getting to my house. Its' very difficult to think like a crook!!!
04-11-2013, 10:03 PM
#7
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 2,489
It is getting hard to stay one step ahead! We're a bit old fashioned...don't use a garage door opener, my cell phone doesn't text, and DH doesn't have a cell! All the contacts in my phone are listed by first name only...I know who they are...all 12 of them!!! No GPS in our car or truck...they're both "older" vehicles. We have a notation on our bank account as to when to call...and don't use a PIN! We try to be very careful. You've listed some very good info. I'll definitely pass it along!
04-12-2013, 06:56 AM
#9
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Corpus Christi, Tx.
Posts: 16,105
This is all good information. One thing though, do not keep your registration in your car. Insurance yes. If you have your identification with you, and get pulled over, you can give any officer the information on the registration, if you own it. The police will use your tag number (license plate) to check who it's registered to. My insurance is in my wallet. Nothing in my car has my physical address on it. Only my PO. The only time I use my physical address is if I want anything shipped to it. As far as passwords go I may use the same password but characterized differently. Just flip them such as i.e. (My 2 cats are crazy) may look like (mitwoc85rcr8e) mi=my, two=2, 8=at, 5-s or z,cr85=cratez. You can throw in roman numerals (MyIIcVIIIsrcrVIIz).
04-12-2013, 07:32 AM
#10
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,532
You can leave your registration and insurance in the car. Just cut out the address, if you get pulled over the cop will run your plates and get your address which should match your drivers license. I got pulled over, when the cop asked why I cut my address out he stated that was a good idea and he never thought of that. It's legal, all you need is proof of registration and insurance, no address is needed on the proof. Another tip, do not carry a spare house key in your purse. If you're purse gets stolen the thief has your address from your drivers license and your house key. Isn't it sad what we have to do today to protect ourselves and the things we worked hard for.
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