Car Theft Prevention Guide
Want to make your vehicle less appealing to thieves? The faster a crook can steal your car, the more attractive it is. Anything you can do to slow down auto robbers will make your ride a less attractive target. To effectively prevent car theft, we have put together this guide to keep your vehicle safe.
Make Sure You Have An Immobilize
Most vehicles on the road today have whats called an immobilizer. Its an electronic security device that only starts the engine if the correct key is present. If your vehicle doesnt have one, installing one will make it much harder to steal. This prevents thieves from bypassing the ignition and hot wiring a vehicle to start its engine.
Keep Your Car Doors Locked And Windows Closed
One of the simplest ways to protect your car is to lock the doors and close the windows anytime you aren’t in the vehicle.
Property crimes are often crimes of opportunity: Open windows and unlocked doors can easily attract thieves, or give them opportunities to strike quickly and maintain a low profile. If would-be thieves can’t quickly gain entry to your car, they’ll often simply keep moving.
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What You Can Do
Here are some ways GEICO recommends to help drivers protect their vehicles:
Not Just Cars: Catalytic Converter Theft
The Hollywood-reinforced chop shop image is outdated. Today, thieves can grab one of a cars most valuable components in seconds, and they dont even need to steal the vehicle itself.
Catalytic converters are an essential part of a vehicles emissions system. They take noxious gasses and tame them to less-harmful fumes, which helps keep our air clean. To do so, they require using precious and expensive materials, which makes them desirable to thieves who sell them for scrap value.
As a part of a cars exhaust system, thieves view these parts as, quite literally, low-hanging fruit they can easily access. A thief can slide under a vehicle and cut off its valuable catalytic converter in just minutes using a battery-operated reciprocating saw.
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Increase Security Inside The Car
For those times when your car isnt parked in its usual home, its worth still having some security precautions in place. No matter where your car is parked, its interior can be fitted with:
- A steering wheel lock.
These days, you can even find dash cameras that link to your smartphone, so if anything triggers them, youll receive an alert.
Get A Steering Wheel Lock
Steering wheel locks act as a visual deterrent, plus theyll take a while to remove from the steering wheel if you go for one with a high Sold Secure rating. Most times, opportunist thieves who rely on a quick getaway will simply walk by a car that has a lock on the steering wheel.
Two of our favourite options are the Disklok Steering Lock and Stoplock Pro Elite Steering Wheel Immobiliser. The Disklock encases your whole steering wheel and spins on attack to prevent the wheel from being turned. An anti-drill and anti-pick lock makes it difficult for thieves to remove, while the lock protects against both traditional theft and advanced theft techniques like key cloning and keyless entry.
The Stoplock wraps around your steering wheel and is extremely difficult to remove, even with heavy duty tools. Its easy to fit, with both keys and a unique key code for an additional level of security, and is a great visual deterrent.
Check out our Car Security Buyers Guide for the best steering wheel locks and other car security accessories.
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Hide An Old Powered On Tablet Or Phone In Your Car
When you must leave your vehicle in a place where you are unsure about safety, place an old phone or tablet that is synced with your Google account where it cant be seen in your car. This will allow you to track your car using the Find my phone function given that your phone or tablet is connect to WiFi.
Add A Car Alarm Immobiliser Or Tracking Device
Most modern cars will come with a factory fitted immobiliser, but adding a Thatcham-approved car alarm can reduce your car insurance premium as well as the risk of car theft.
If you have no car security at all, make fitting an immobiliser a top priority.
Fitting a tracking device wont prevent a vehicle from being stolen, but it will increase the chances of it being recovered and returned by the police.
These devices arent the preserve of high-end cars, as research by Tracker found that three out of four vehicles stolen and recovered were worth less than £20,000.
In fact, 27% of vehicles recovered by Tracker in 2016 were valued at less than £5,000.
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Best Car Theft Protection In San Diego 296
Purchasing San Diego auto insurance can be complicated, but H& M Insurance Agency makes it simple. Since there is no one-size-fits-all policy, our list of standard coverage options gives you the ability to create a policy that is a good fit for you. Get a quote today to build your personalized car theft protection plan. If youre still unsure about which coverage selections to make, you can always work with one of our agents to develop a tailored protection plan to meet your specific needs by calling 296-0005.
Use Your Parking Brake
Not only are tow trucks used when cars are illegally parked or broken down, but theyâre also used in auto theft. A tow truck can pull up on a vehicle, lift it up, and drive off with it before anyone knows what happened. Engaging your parking brake wonât necessarily stop theft by a tow truck, but it will definitely slow the process down. Parking brakes typically lock the rear tires of a car, so if your car is backed into a parking spot against a wall or other obstruction, itâs that much more difficult for thieves to tow it away. Thieves often look for the easiest targets so as to avoid detection, so this is a simple way to help prevent vehicle theft.
TIP: If you have a driveway, be sure to back into it if you have a rear-wheel drive or frontwards if you have a front-wheel-drive vehicle â this also makes it more difficult to tow your car. Similarly, you should turn your wheels to the side. And regardless of where you park, ensuring that itâs a well-lit area helps protect your car.
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How Do Thieves Mark Cars To Steal
Sometimes thieves mark cars to steal and sell on for parts. They simply use a marker pen to mark the car.
There’s also reports of criminals pushing in wing-mirrors to further draw attention to the car. They might even try to gain access to the car if the driver gets out to readjust the mirror.
Before you get into your vehicle, check for anything unusual. Look out for anyone that’s hanging around your car or any marks. If you notice your wing-mirror is folded in, readjust it before you unlock your car.
Remember, not every thief is after an Aston Martin or a Ferrari. SUVs are popular with criminal firms because they are effective at ramraiding shops, while vans are handy if you want to shift stolen goods.
Other cars, such as Ford Fiestas, are easy to quickly sell on no criminal wants a garage full of evidence on their hands. For this reason, its always best to ensure you have parked in a well-lit location and all your valuables are hidden from view.
Dont Leave Your Car Running
It might be tempting to leave the car running especially if youre warming the cabin on a frosty morning but you run the risk of having the car stolen, not to mention getting a fine too.
Take care when de-icing the car, as an opportunistic thief could steal the vehicle in a couple of seconds.
The same is true when popping into a shop, dropping the children at the school gate, or meeting somebody at the station. Switch off the engine and lock the doors.
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How To Prevent Catalytic Converter Theft
You can take many measures to protect your catalytic converter from tempting thieves.
Some cars are natural targets for thieves. For instance, specific hybrid models have valuable catalytic converters with a high market price. And thieves can easily crawl beneath SUVs as they sit high off the ground. This stance makes it easier and doesnt attract attention while they get the job done.
If youre not sure if your car is a likely target, its worth calling a local exhaust or muffler specialist to ask them about what cars are popular with local thieves. These specialists will know what models tend to be targeted since they likely have replaced a lot of catalytic converters.
There are specific things you can do if your car is at risk:
What To Do If Your Car Is Stolen
If your car is stolen, contact the police immediately. The NHTSA says you may need to provide the following information to the police:
- The year, make, model and color of the car
- License plate number
- Vehicle Identification Number
You’ll also want to let your insurance company know within 24 hours if your vehicle has been stolen, says the NHTSA.
While auto theft is not as common as it once was, it is unfortunately still something you need to protect yourself against. Thankfully, taking a few simple precautions may help you reduce the chances of your car being stolen.
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Understand The Drawbacks Of Modern Vehicle Tech
Modern technology is great…until its not. Tech unquestionably makes our lives easier in so many ways. Unfortunately, one of the tradeoffs of the convenience tech provides is that it can also be used by criminals as an access point into our lives, homes, and yes, vehicles.
Modern vehicles are safer than theyve ever been thanks to safety developments over the years. Most vehicles are also more fuel-efficient and offer nice amenities like infotainment systems and multi-zone climate systems to make our driving experience more comfortable.
Just be mindful that some high-tech car features, including keyless entry and push-button ignitions, actually make your vehicles more vulnerable to theft than the vehicles you owned 10 years ago.
Anti-theft systems will continue to get more sophisticated and advanced. Unfortunately, thieves will always manage to keep pace with the ever-evolving nature of modern tech and succeed in finding ways to manipulate it.
Protecting Your Most Prized Possession
State Insurance offers three different motor vehicle insurance policies to choose from:
- Car Comprehensive – Full cover for accidental loss or damage to your car as well as accidental damage to someone elses car.
- Car Third Party, Fire and Theft – Cover for loss or damage to your car from fire or theft, plus accidental damage to someone elses car.
- Car Third Party Only – Cover for accidental damage to someone elses car.
Our phone lines are much busier than usual, so there may be a long wait.
Did you know you can pay, claim, cancel, and more online? View all online options.
Alternatively, talk to Sam, our Chatbot, who can help with simple insurance questions.
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Turn Your Car Wheels Into The Curb
A simple but effective trick is to turn your wheels into the curb or towards another vehicle. As a result, this will make it a lot harder for thieves to make a speedy getaway in your car. If they manage to break in and get the engine started, theyll still need to straighten up or potentially do some reversing or manoeuvring, giving you time to call the police and note down their description.
Organize Your Garage So You Can Park Indoors
Another way to prevent car theft is very simple always park in your garage. After all, a car thief cant steal what they cant see!
A Garage Living online poll of 1,500 North Americans found that 20% of them were unable to park in their garage. Its simple logic that a vehicle that is left parked in a driveway or on the street is at a much higher risk of theft and vandalism.
Its not as difficult as it may seem to restore the main functionality of a garage the ability to park. Heres what you need to do to reclaim your garages interior space:
- eliminate as much clutter as possible
- talk to a garage design expert so they can maximize your garage storage space
- outfit your garage with effective storage systems like slatwall, overhead racks, and cabinets
Indoor parking and ample home storage can co-exist in a garage. You can even create extra square footage in your garage for hobbies like working out or using a workshop. All it takes is the right garage design to fit your familys lifestyle.
Learn more about the additional benefits of home garage parking here.
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Install High Quality Outdoor Security Cameras
When it comes to protection for your home and vehicle, outdoor security cameras are another effective tool for preventing theft.
We already know that burglars dont like to call attention to themselves, and they certainly dont want any footage that can connect them to a crime. One study found that 83% of burglars check first for surveillance cameras before attempting to break into a home.
Outdoor cameras are also important for preventing car theft because many people, even those who have garages, park their cars on the street or in the driveway. In fact, this survey found that 25% of people with a two-car garage dont park their cars in the driveway at all, while another found that 30% only park one car in the garage.
When your car isnt parked in the garage, it isnt covered under the same protections that your home security system offers, like smart locks, burglary detection, and an alarm. However, an outdoor camera can help prevent crime in a number of useful ways, including:
- When a would-be burglar sees a surveillance camera, the risk of getting caught usually makes them move along.
- Police departments are more likely to capture thieves if they can identify who theyre looking for.
When choosing an outdoor camera to help prevent car theft or vandalism, look for features that include:
Get An Anti Rfid Wallet
Did you know that thieves can create a clone of the unique system on the key fob that allows you to lock your car remotely?
Although smart thieves can use technology to unlock your car without your knowledge, they still need access to the signal from your key fob before they can clone it. Instead of shoving your keys in a drawer or leaving them in your pocket, invest in an Anti RFID blocking wallet that will prevent readers from accessing the signal. Its a small amount of money to prevent your car from disappearing altogether!
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Dont Leave Valuables In Your Car
You dont display your cash, financial statements, and jewelry in your homes windows, do you? So why would you do the same in your car? Hide those valuables, including purses, computer bags, and the ignition key. Youd be surprised how often people dont. Two out of five people fail to hide valuables, according to a joint survey from LoJack and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.1 One-quarter leave a purse or wallet inside, and one-third have left bank statements all of which are appealing to car thieves. One-third say theyve kept their vehicle running while unoccupied.
Etch Your Vehicle Identification Number Into The Glass
Thieves may be more interested in your car for its parts, particularly its glass. Those clear panels can get expensive when the broken glass results from a robbery. Yes, its quite a cycle.
Having your VIN etched into a corner of the glass will make it difficult for a thief to sell on the black market. If a thief walks by your car and sees its VIN etched into every glass panel, they may keep moving to the next vehicle.
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