3 common mistakes people make about vehicle theft and how you can protect against them
By Teletrac Navman | Press Releases | August 2019
1. My Keys are secure so my vehicle is safe
The percentage of car thefts without keys is rising, with 70% of thefts in the month of October being without keys being taken. This means just because your car keys are safe, it doesn’t mean your vehicle is safe from thieves.
One increase is from key cloning from keyless entry cars. A common method is for thieves to clone the signal from your car keys and emulate it to gain access to your vehicle and start the engine. This uses technology which ‘reads’ signal from the key and thieves can emulate this signal whilst next to the vehicle to fool the car to thinking the key is in range.
2. I am at home so my vehicle is more likely to be safe
Over 70% of vehicles are stolen from the home. Thieves scout for cars to steal and the common place the vehicle always returns to is the home, so it makes it an easier location to plan a theft from.
3. Cars are stolen at night so I can relax during the day
2/3rds of car thefts in October occurred during the day. The second place most vehicles spend most of their time is the workplace, and workplaces have lots of people come and go, which gives easier cover for thieves.
What can I do to reduce the chances of theft?
- Keep your keys safe and away from your front doors and windows at your home and workplace.
- Park your car in a safe spot, particularly in CCTV surveilled car parks.
- Vary your parking place if possible to make it harder to track your vehicles movements
- Don’t leave your car running with the keys inside whilst it warms up on those cold mornings!
- Get an active immobilizer like the TRACKSTAR S5 Advance!
