Most if not all of the cars of today come with the wonderful convenience of being able to unlock and lock the car with the push of a button. This feature also goes as far as immobilising and alarming a vehicle and in theory securing it.
When this advancement became common place, those with sticky fingers probably found it to be a major annoyance because it made their trade a little more challenging. But, with the will to steal, thieves will eventually find a way to get their hands on what they want.
For cars with immobilisers, modern day thieves have equipped themselves with devices that give them easy uninhibited access to vehicles after the owners have walked away from them.
At the start of the week, one of our colleagues was the victim of a robbery that seems to have been orchestrated in such manner. X was on their way home from work and stopped at a supermarket for a few minutes to pick up some groceries. This was not an unusual occurrence but upon returning to their vehicle the unusual had happened. A few belongings that had been left in the car were missing, the doors were unlocked and there was no sign of a forced entry.
Fortunately the car was not stolen but unfortunately a laptop and various documents were taken. Immobilisers are immobilisers are wonderful and convenient but they can give us a false sense of security. We have become accustomed to pushing a button whilst we walk away from our vehicles and expecting them to be locked and secure.
As you can see from what happened to our colleague in some situations, this is no longer the case. This kind of theft can happen to anyone and it won’t even take the thieves more than a minute to get away with something of value. Yes, you may have insurance but can you imagine calling your insurer and trying to submit a claim on such an event? You more than likely won’t be covered for the loss.
One thing that we should get away from is falling into a somewhat false sense of security and becoming complacent. To increase your chances of not becoming a victim of such a robbery, you could take the following steps:
- Do a visual (you see it lock) and audible (your car beeps) check to see that your car is locked
- Pull on the door handle to make sure the car is locked
- Hide valuables (boot) even better, don’t leave any valuables in the car
- Be aware of where you park you car and park where there are lots of people
Have you been the victim of such a crime? Is there anything else that you can think of that people can do to reduce the chances of becoming a victim?
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