I must admit that after researching this topic, I was guilty and even have been a victim of some of these. The truth is that there is no 100% fail-proof way to prevent someone from stealing your identity. However, if you make it harder for them, they just might leave you alone and go after an easier target. Here are some more items that might be in your vehicle that would be a potential “goldmine” for an identity thief:
- Picture ID – Maybe it is your work id, gym membership card, passport or any other picture id. The identity thief can cut out your picture and replace it with theirs giving them access to your place of employment, gym, passport, etc. where they can go and steal other items. For instance they can go to your place of employment and might steal the first laptop unattended that they see. Or your gym and steal items from the lockers. Take these items with you or store them in a safe place in your vehicle.
- Garage door opener – You garage door opener is practically another key to your residence and it should be treated as such. Resist the urge to leave it mounted on your sun visor. When you leave your car unattended, store your garage door opener in a safe place or take it with you.
- GPS – A GPS stuck to your windshield or dashboard might be all the incentive a criminal needs to break into your vehicle. A GPS can be sold quickly on the “black market” making it a hot item. This should be hidden away whenever it is not being used. Another good practice is not to put your actual house address in the “Home” setting of your GPS. Use an address that is close, maybe a block or two away. That way if the thief breaks in and finds your garage door opener, they can’t use the GPS to get to your actual residence.
- Weapon – Just imagine that a thief breaks into your car and now has your address from your registration, directions how to get there from your GPS, your garage door opener and your gun! Not a good combination. If you insist in keeping a weapon in your car, get a car safe. That would at least slow them down or deter them from stealing your weapon. Click here to see an example
- License plate – Your license plate could be removed and put on another vehicle in order to commit crime. A license plate lock set could give you some additional protection. Click here to see and example
- Personal items (i.e. gifts, presents, clothes, etc) – I have to confess I fell victim to this one. The place where I worked held an annual toy drive. They sent out an email to the whole company reminding them that the coming Friday was the deadline to bring in all of the toys. Well I left mine in the car not knowing where to drop them off and on the back seat in plain view. I planned to get them on my lunch break and turn them in. On my lunch break I discovered that my vehicle was broken into and the toys were gone. Turns out that 10 other cars got broken into that morning as well. The other issue here is that it might be hard to get the insurance company to cover these losses. So just take them with you if possible or lock them away in the trunk ***
Tips for preventing vehicle theft
- Never leave your car running while unattended
- Always lock your car
- Park where it is well illuminated and “busy”
- Hide your items before your reach your destination. Don’t leave anything visible that would invite a thief to break into your vehicle ***
- Be aware of your surroundings
- Remove your car alarm or theft protection decals. Instead of deterring a thief, now days it lets them know how to break into your car. By knowing which theft deterrent device you have they can determine how to inactivate it.
*** Note if you are going to hide things in your glove compartment or trunk, do it before you get to your destination. Someone might just be watching you at your destination looking to see if you lean over to hide valuables in the glove compartment put something in the trunk. Once you are gone, guess where they are headed?
