By Alex Nunez on February 10, 2010 in
If you own a portable GPS for your car, you know that one of the cardinal rules is to keep it hidden when not in use. Exposed GPS units are like catnip to thieves, who will break into your car and take your gadget if you slip up. And remember -- stow the windshield mount, too. Hiding the GPS but leaving its mount in place still tells anyone who bothers to look that you've probably got one stashed in your glovebox or center console. But I digress. This post isn't just about GPS theft prevention -- it's also a reminder of what criminals can do once they have your GPS in hand.
Yesterday, I was listening to Tony Reno, the morning-show host on my local AM station. One of his recurring guests is Bobby Ramos, an area police officer (and sports-talk personality) who weighs in with stories and crime-prevention tips culled from his experience on the job.
During his appearance, Ramos relayed the story of a local family that attended a sporting event and made the mistake of leaving their GPS in view out in the parking lot. Sure enough, their vehicle was broken into, and the thieves made off with not only the GPS unit, but the garage door opener as well. And this is where it gets ugly.
Knowing that the family was at a game and that they'd likely be away for hours, the thieves simply turned on the GPS and had it take them to the family's house. All they needed to do was use the "Home" navigation feature that's standard on pretty much every GPS. Once at the house, they used the stolen garage door opener to gain easy entry (the house didn't have an alarm), and they ransacked it.
Ramos went on to reinforce the point that if you have a GPS, you absolutely need to hide it when you park your car, and he followed that up with a suggestion that seems so obvious and commonsensical after the fact, I couldn't believe I'd never heard or thought of it before.
Ramos's tip?
Don't use your real address as your GPS's default "go home" navigation waypoint. Instead, he suggests using something near your home that you're familiar with, such as a place of business. This could be the gas station down the street, your local supermarket, a restaurant -- whatever. So long as you know how to get to your house from there, it serves its purpose. Heck, why not make it your local police station? (Think of the thieves' faces...)
Now, could criminals get your address off the paperwork (registration, insurance, etc.) you're required to keep in your vehicle and just program it in? Of course they could, but that's more involved. Crooks like to do things fast and easy, so take a few minutes tonight and reprogram your GPS's home address so that if it does get stolen, it isn't an automated roadmap to potentially greater losses.