Ditter43

NOT ALL THIEVES ARE STUPID

1. LONG - TERM PARKING

Some people left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose 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 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:

Someone 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. CELL PHONES:

I never thought of this! This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her 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'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 When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.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 Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.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 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.

4. PURSE IN THE GROCERY CART SCAM:
A lady went grocery-shopping at a local mall and left her purse sitting in the children's 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 burglarized. 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 burglarize it.

*PLEASE PASS THIS ON
Even if this does not pertain to you, please let your family and friends know so they don't get caught in a scam.

nativetexan

oh goodness. I do carry my insurance papers in my wallet/purse. not in my car. never leave my GPS in sight. and don't have my exact address in it anyway. close but not exact.

Tothill

People need to know there local laws and current technology before following all the advise in this thread.

Where I live a copy of insurance documents must be in a vehicle at all times. The original must be in a vehicle that leaves the province.

Most cell phones require a password to access them nowadays. If my phone was stolen, they would have three tries to guess my password before the phone locked up completely.

I am not a fan of GPS technology. Why would anyone need to program HOME into one? Surely most people can find their way home from anywhere within 20 or more miles? My phone has a GPS option that I can use if needed to find a shop in an unfamiliar city.

Jan in VA

Guess it pays to have a 17 year old car with no GPS, no bumper stickers about where my kids are in school or a parking permit #, a basic phone that has NO bells and whistles, and no tablet to leave in the car.

Jan in VA

MaryStoaks

Thanks Ditter. That is all good advise.

Jingle

I have heard these before. We don't have a garage.
Oldest Granddaughter left her smart phone in a dressing room at a big dept. store. Employees found it laying on top of some items. She had a password on it, so it could not be used.

quiltingcandy

My niece had her iPhone stolen from her purse at the grocery store - she had the new kill switch on it. She reported the loss to the store where she was fairly sure it happened, then called the police. The person at the police station directing the call said, "We may have your phone here." My niece was told about an hour before someone had dropped it in front of the station. They thought it was accidentally dropped by the owner until my niece told them she had't been anywhere near the police dept. Luckily it was not damaged.

sparkys_mom

I inadvertently 'donated' my Kindle Fire to Goodwill last year. Even though it was early morning and I returned within 15 minutes, the employees couldn't find it. (Yeah, right!) Fortunately, I had a pin number on it so I went home and contacted Amazon. They locked it permanently and listed it as stolen. Of course I never got it back but no one else was able to use it and, more importantly, they weren't able to use it to make purchases on my Amazon account.

Peckish

Most banking institutions will not allow you do withdraw all your money from your checking account in one day specifically to avoid this kind of situation. There's usually a limit, such as $300 in one day.

I can't tell you how many times I park next to a car and see a GPS, tablet, and/or purse sitting right on the front seat in full view. It just amazes me. I never leave anything valuable in my car.

crafty pat

We don't use GPS and we have a good alarm on the car, also have a good home security system. I don't put anyone's number in my phone if I can't remember it I want need it. But those are good tip's. Also if you park your car in the driveway of your home don't leave the garage door opener in it or make sure the door from your garage into your house is kept locked.