Theft From my car.
 

A few weeks ago, I realised that my small leather pouch in which I kept my car parking change and some notes, was missing.

I couldn't work out how as it always lived in the door pocket of my car.
Not a life changing amount but it was pretty full - maybe £25?
I blamed my old age silliness.

Just went out to load up the car for tonight's gig, and found my car had been ransacked - no damage just everything pulled out - all I can see that thery took was my "emergency" phone - an old Motorola V3 Razr, and -my new pouch of cash!
I've had the PAYE Sim card disabled and they tell me that they have also disabled the phone (?) - I bet it will still turn up on ebay!

Somehow some punks have found a way of getting into my 2014 Honda CRV.

What also disturbs me is that i hear that there is a growing drug problem in this nice little town and what "my" money will be spent on.

Feel somewhat sickened.


Any thoughts?

Does it have keyless entry? Thieves can get a device which 'hears' the signal the fob puts out, copying it to get access to the car.

I never leave anything of value in my car.

Ever.

Breaking into just about any car is pretty simple.

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/featu...to-prevent-it/

$15.99 on Amazon:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....L._SL1000_.jpg
Slide it between the upper-back corner of the door and frame and inflate. Inset a coat hangar wire and pulled the door handle. It's the repo guy's joy. Thieves rifle the car with the alarm going and take off.

Bob

Did you have the phone turned off? They have (cheap, easily available) scanners and can tell when there's a phone in the car, and that often is all they need to know to pick yours vs. the one next to it.

Leave your car unlocked with nothing in it then you will not have a problem. The facts of life in our reality are to be taken at face value. Anything else is futile.


People of my age like to point out that when they were younger they didn't lock their homes. The truth be told people didn't have much or anything to steal. Nobody had money and TVs were to heavy.

Yes it does and this is what the police also told me - Seems I may need to get a cast iron key locker or some such!

I'm sorry to hear that. I had a smash and grab happen in the early 1980s, and an open with a tool theft maybe 10 years ago. I know that anger.

Many of us are guilty of leaving valuables in the car but reality is anyone wanting to get in a car has been able to do it with most cars for decades.

The drug issue you mention is older than cars. In the 1960s and 70s my way ahead of her times lay it all out there grandmother established some have always had and always will have a hard time controlling themselves with tingly feelings and their tingly parts. Our now retired police sergeant often pointed out how ale and lager are drugs leading the pack as far as grief, damage and death as anything.

Police officer friends and the LP (loss prevention) staff at our stores point out that covering up stuff in your car and thinking that is security is foolish. The parking lots at our work locations have cameras. It makes no difference how people think they're protecting their cars. The cameras show it happens really fast whether they have tools or just smash the windows. They're usually leaving before alarms making noise can do anything.

I do have to shuttle things of value in my car so I just let stuff I can afford to lose be there and carry things in and out of the car via baskets or bags.

If they've got your code, so does every other thief, probably. There's a finite number of codes and it's not an encrypted exchange, so you're sunk there I suspect - might have even been passed on from the first successful entry.

Like others said it's probably better in some cases to leave it unlocked and hope they don't just decide to wreck things when they find nothing. I had hundreds of dollars of damage done to a window and door (and this was the mid 80s) when they broke into our Saab to take what was a $20 transistor radio sitting out in the open (wife had a long-ish commute and the Blaupunkt was out of the dash for repair!).

My old Miata would probably be totaled if they destroyed the top to get in, since that's probably going to cost over half the value of the car. The good thing is it's easy to see there's nothing in the car and it's garaged at home, so I've been spared, "so far," I always add.

P.S. This is why a lot of keyless entry cars come with a "valet" key that you give the parking attendant when you valet park. It's fobless and they have to use it to unlock/lock/start. Of course, now most new cars, including our newer Honda, don't even have a key - they only come with a fob! (They may be more secure - dunno - google time.)

P.P.S. Looks like keyless cars are more at risk from quick reading. A "Faraday bag" is one thing to reduce risk, but you might be able to get the car re-programmed if it's already been compromised. The push-button type fobs (attached to an actual key) are only transmitting when you use them, so less likely to be stolen, it seems. Ain't progress great.

I’m sorry this happened to you, Andy, and I’m surprised this can happen to a modern vehicle. I have an old Ford F-150 that’s rusting out, I haven’t upgraded due to a sense of the increasing envy of those who’ve reached young adulthood coming from the growing underclass of society. It makes my blood pressure go up just thinking about these things.

Wow Bob.. thanks for the crime class!

Pit Bull
 

Borrow a friend's Pit Bull or German Shepherd next time you gig!

Many kitchens have the rest of the tools you need. True story follows.

Many years ago guessing 1990 we stopped for a swim and locked ourselves out of the car. We didn't have cel phones and foolishly had wallets in the car. The sun was going down. We thought hitch a ride to her parent's still figuring we'd be walking barefoot and in swimwear for a good distance.

A fit 5' 10" blond woman in a bikini next to a Mustang GT waving for some help got it in a hurry. Some dudes stopped. One said he was on probation so could only advise. They drove to a house near by, grabbed some home made tools, and were back at the car in maybe 15 minutes. The guy on probation's advice was good. He knew just what to do with a Ford and guided me well. A 12 pack of PBR was all they asked for so they were probably not 21. I gave them a $20 from the wallet I should not have had in the car.

My wife has never liked being gawked at and she hates abusing privilege or power but that one one stays in memory. My best hope hitching would probably have been the police stopping but mostly likely walking. I'm sure my wife's outfit bought us that luck.

I can say from experience that its an awful and violated feeling knowing someone has broken into your vehicle. Its happened to me twice. The first time, all they took was my book of CDs; there were only maybe six in it. It was no major loss but I was furious. The second time I knew from the moment I got into the car someone else had been in it from the lingering smell of their body spray. I noticed my seats had been moved, my center console had been opened, and then I noticed my floor mats were thrown into the rear of the car. Gladly there was nothing of value to steal that time, but again I was furious.

Wish I had some great advice. There probably isn't any. Its a very rare occurrence, and the bad guy knows he's already gotten from you what he can. Hopefully it never happens again.

When I lived in Baltimore, car break-ins were so common (even in the nice parts of the city) that I just never locked my car. Most common technique was to knock out the side window, and once you have that happen two or three times (with the associated cost) it is just wiser to leave it unlocked with nothing in it. One of those busted windows in my car was for a baggy of quarters in the center console, for parking meters. Live and learn.

Or you could move to the country...