My friend, Myrtle sent me a "Forwarded" e-mail which had some security safety information in it that got me thinking and a bit worried.
1. 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.
(Then again, Art says that in Hawaii you have to keep the insurance papers in the car so there's not much hope there.)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.
(This is something I can do right now! I'm taking away Home from the GPS.)
As if I didn't have enough scary things to think about with the current technology, I've got this. Arrghhh...3. CELL PHONESThis 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. 20 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 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.
with any technology advance come problems and precautions to take...
ReplyDeleteTo some extent some of these are urban legends. The banks do not allow accounts to be drained completely except by identity and in many stories like this they do not link to a published police report or newspaper article on the crime. Therefore, while it can happen, take it with a grain of salt and remember to stay safe.
ReplyDeleteThe second one, about the family who lost everything while at a football game, was right here in Seattle. It was in the paper, and ever since I've told people to take "home" off their GPS. So some of it may be "urban legend" but not all.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, more stuff to worry about. Why can't people just be good?
ReplyDeleteI always check everything with Snopes too. I didn't these, but so many of these scam-like things turn out to be fakes. I just don't have time to be scared to death all the time any more. We used to leave our front door unlocked all the time...I don't do that now. Simple security measures are best for me. Hugs.....
ReplyDeleteBeing moderately cautious and aware is good. I'd seen those suggestions before, and there are some good points. Since required by state law, I'll keep my registration and insurance info in the car. I make a point not to put my full address on my extra keys and extra garage door openers. Gotta live life to the fullest, and pray that the bad guys don't catch me, though. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteGreat post Kay and this one hits home because I have just heard my niece's car had been broken into over the weekend. She and her little girl were in a parking lot near a playground where she met up with several other young friends with their children. When she got back to the car her rear side window was smashed. She had left her purse covered up with a blanket and it had been stolen. Her car is actually an SUV with no trunk. Hard lesson learned as several other cars had been broken into at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThis is all good advice, it makes you think, if they want to do this so bad,...we don't have much choice. ugh.
ReplyDeleteIf only robbers would apply their brilliance to good instead of evil.
ReplyDeletethat's some scary thoughts
ReplyDeleteThe crooks just seem to stay one step ahead of us. When I worked in current diversion for the power company we learned no matter what methods we implemented to keep people from stealing power, they would often use our very precautions against us. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteJust this morning I had to deal with an unauthorized debit on my checking account. So I'm in a vulnerable mood already. But you brought up some very good advice to keep in mind. I don't text so that's at least one thing I don't have to worry about. I'll look into the GPS...I didn't realize there was a "home" to it. As for garage clicker...we don't have an enclosed garage, sigh, sometimes it pays to be behind the curve.
ReplyDeleteL...w
I've given up taking notice of scary things I read or hear, whether it's on blogs, newspapers, radio etc. I reckon that these people have won if they scare me, so I'm going to live life the way I want to. It's the same with diet, you'd never eat anything if you took notice of everything you read.
ReplyDeleteAt times like this I'm happy not to have a garage, a car, GPS, or a cell phone.
ReplyDelete