How to Bum A Ride in 60 Seconds, (For months).

A problem that is plaguing the RGV, and has been for years is vehicle theft. While the number of stolen vehicles has dropped significantly, the recent drug and alien smuggling incidents have increased, so stolen vehicles is on the rise again. Due to our proximity to the Mexican border, the smugglers have been getting bolder and stealing local vehicles to carry out their smuggling operations without risking a personal vehicle.

Some of the most commonly stolen vehicles in the RGV are the Ford F-250 and the Ford Expedition but other large pickups and SUVs are also targets. These vehicles are commonly stolen and used by smugglers because of their ability to carry large loads of drugs and or illegal aliens as well as their off road capabilities.

So how can you protect yourself against having your vehicle stolen? Two of the best methods of vehicle theft prevention are:

·         The Club (around $40.)

·         Kill switch or Fuel cutoff device. ($30 -$50 plus installation).

The only issue with these two methods is that you must remember to use them EVERY TIME you leave your vehicle unattended. A car thief depends on you forgetting to use the methods but will quickly walk away from your vehicle if he sees a club installed. It’s just too much trouble for him to try to remove a Club from a steering wheel when there are so many other vehicles without them. One issue with a kill switch or fuel cutoff switch is that a car thief may not know it’s installed until after he breaks your window or damages your car and drives off. Of course, he won’t get very far, but you’re still left to deal with the damage. 

 

Just because your vehicle isn’t an F-250 or Expedition, doesn’t mean your vehicle is immune from theft. Sometimes a car thief will use any vehicle available if the opportunity is available.

According to The National Insurance Crime Bureau, the top 10 most stolen cars are:
1. Honda Accord - 58,596 total thefts
2. Honda Civic - 47,037 total thefts
3. Ford Pickup Full Size - 26,770 total thefts  
4. Chevrolet Pickup Full Size - 23,745 total thefts 
5. Toyota Camry - 16,251 total thefts 
6. Dodge Caravan - 11,799 total thefts 
7. Dodge Pickup Full Size - 11,755 total thefts
8. Acura Integra - 9,555 total thefts
9. Nissan Altima - 9,169 total thefts 
10. Nissan Maxima - 6,947 total thefts 

Here are some additional tips.
 

·      Never leave your car running or the keys in the ignition when you're away from it, even for            "just a minute."

·         Always roll up the windows and lock the car, even if it's in front of your home, sunroof too.

·         Most car thieves already know the most common hiding places for hidden spare keys.

·         Never leave valuables in plain view, even if your car is locked. Put them in the trunk or at least out of sight.

·         Remove portable electronic devices such as smart phones and GPS navigation systems, including suction cup or bean bag type mounts. (Even the visible appearance of a suction cup ring on the glass windshield can be an enticement to a thief to break in and look for the GPS system.)

·         Park in busy, well-lighted area but not next to large vehicles such as vans.

·         Carry the registration and insurance card with you. Don't leave personal identification documents or credit cards in your vehicle. 

-      Do not leave your garage door opener in the vehicle when it is unattanded.

 

When you pay to park in a lot or garage, leave just the ignition or valet key with the attendant. Make sure no personal information is attached. Do the same when you take your car for repairs.

Here’s another concern that you should be aware of that an Advent customer reminded me of. A few years ago, there was an email floating around about small holes being drilled under the car door handle. The email stated that a driver noticed a small hole under the car door handle on the passenger side door.

 

 

The email further states that nothing was missing from his car but the theory for why his car was broken into was that the perprtrator accessed his GPS system to find out where he lived. While that may be possible, it’s highly unlikely that that was the reason for accessing the vehicle. It would be just as easy to follow the victim home or find some other information in the vehicle such as mail or insurance card, or just steal whatever valuables are in the car. It is possible to break into certain vehicles using this method but, this method is highly unlikely since there are quicker ways to access a vehicle. But, that’s just my opinion.

 The original story can be read here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/handle.asp

I would think stealing valuables or your garage door opener would be a more likely scenario since the perp could then follow you home then wait till you leave to access your home through the garage. Lesson here, take your garage door opener with you when you leave the vehicle unattended. It’s probably a good idea to remove the ”home” coordinates from your GPS and not leave personal identifiers in your car.

Tip: Enter your vehicle license plate number VIN, insurance company phone number, policy number, and vehicle description of all your vehicles in your smartphone. If your car is stolen, you’ll have all the relevant information for the police, as long as you don’t leave your phone in your car. (I also enter tire size, registration expiration date, inspection due date, oil change due date, oil type, and other vehicle specifications for maintenance purposes).

 

Case #1

“I’ll only be few minutes”

I just stood there holding my coffee for like ten minutes, I couldn’t believe it. I was expecting a prankster classmate to pull back in at any second.

You were at a local gas station?

Yeah right near my house, I stop there all the time for gas, coffee, you know…simple stuff. I had filled up and then pulled around in front of the station to pay and get some coffee; I was seriously gone for like 3 minutes.

What’d you do next?

I had no idea what to do. Honestly I was thinking about my final that I was going to be late for, it was early… you know… before class. I went back in and eventually the clerk found out and called the police, the whole thing was surreal. I tried to call my dad at work, but had to leave a message for him. I felt so helpless.

Did the police think the vehicle was stolen?

Well…yeah, but the policeman finally shows up, and starts by asking questions.

“Was it locked?” He asked,

“No.” I said. I had actually left it running. “I just went in to pay and grab some coffee.”

He then asked me if I knew it was illegal to leave a running vehicle unattended, and that I could be ticketed.

Case #2

“I never had to lock up before”.

What kind of car was it sir?

Black, it uh, it was a black Buick LeSabre. It was the only car my wife and I used.

And where was it stolen?

Just outside the grocery store! It was early evening, I don’t know, say around seven? I had parked around the side of the store as I usually try to do. It’s a little darker there…no lights, but it is a lot closer to the door and easier to carry the bags, you know.

Did you get a look at the thieves? 

Oh, no, no. I was in the store shopping when it happened. They say nobody saw anything, I’m sure it happened very quickly. I know I hadn’t locked the car, and the sunroof was open, it was a nice day. You just never think about things like that, you know? I mean all my life I’ve never locked my car and I’ve never had any problems. Shows you what the world is like today.

Did you ever find out why it was stolen?

Yeah, the police actually found the car 3 days later way down in the city. It had been banged up in a police chase. Apparently it was stolen for drug trading; it seems it always comes back to drugs or things like that. I just never expected something like that way out here, makes you feel uneasy.

 When you got it back was the damage extensive?

Was it covered by insurance?

Oh yeah, I’m all squared away with the insurance people, that’s all taken care of. But I don’t have the car back yet... they are holding it for forensic investigation, I don’t know the details. All I know is that my daughter had to take a day off to drive us into the city to file the papers and collect what was left of our things, and that wasn’t much. I can't even remember everything that was in the car, but we've had some odd phone calls recently; I am a little concerned about possible identity theft. But the car, no, we won’t see the car till after the repairs are finished, who knows when that will be.

Your daughter is still helping you out then?

No, she isn’t able to do that. We wouldn’t want her to. No, we’re getting along for now with this rental. Our insurance agent was really great, he worked a deal for us on the rental. Because of the trial and extenuating circumstances however, it isn’t covered by the insurance. This is all coming out of the savings. What a waste.

Well I hope it gets resolved for you quickly.

I just hope this case wraps up before it gets cold. We don’t usually stay up here in the winter, and I don’t want to mess with the rental down south.

Case #3

“It’s a piece of junk anyway”

So where were you?

I was at a customer’s apartment working on his computer. I came out to get some tools and thought I went the wrong way. I went back and forth between the 2 parking lots 3 times before it sank in.

What kind of car is it?

It’s a blue 99 Ford Escort. I had an awesome stereo system in it though, and some mean speakers. I spent around $1000. on the sound system alone.

Was your car ever found?

Yeah, yeah, down by Rodgers and 5^th, behind an abandoned gas station. They pretty much stripped it, obviously. The sound system was gone. What sucks most is that my repair tools were in the trunk and my school books were in the back seat along with my military uniform and some gear…all gone. My girlfriend had just given me a 5 disc CD of my favorite band for my birthday last week too…gone.

Did your insurance company cover you?

Uh, ya know, in the back of my mind, I kinda’ thought that if my piece of junk car was ever stolen, my insurance would at least give some money, maybe for a down payment or something, No dice…wasn’t worth enough. Now I gotta bum rides to school, to work, the armory. Plus, I have to replace all my tools and uniforms… not worth it, not worth it.

So what your next move?

Dunno, dunno. Maybe…(walks away).

We don’t always realize how dependent we are on our cars, regardless of how we feel about them. What would life be like without your car? Rely more on your security measures than your insurance company. Because it only takes 60 seconds.

F.Y.I.

 
The state of Texas now allows for you to have your insurance card on your smart phone rather than leaving a piece of paper with your home address in your car where it could be used to track you.

The Texas Help End Auto Theft (H.E.A.T.) Program which was a free state initiative designed to prevent auto theft, will cease operations on Dec 31, 2013. The state is asking that members remove the stickers from their vehicles.

 

Be safe!

 

Vivint Security Alarms

Vivint Security is a new comer to the RGV and I recently had a Vivint Security salesman drop by my house and introduced me to the all new Vivint Home Security System. The young man was very polite and professional and seemed to be very knowledgeable on the product he was selling.

As I have previously worked for an alarm company, I was curious about his sales pitch and how the alarm system itself measured up. I listened to his whole spiel and looked at all the brochures. The price was tempting enough to make me seriously consider purchasing one and I was very impressed with the system itself. The one thing that immediately caught my attention was the monthly monitoring fee, which was unusually high compared to other companies. The use of cellular monitoring explains the price.

The analyst side of me though, insisted on doing more research. What I found was really disappointing and I immediately decided against signing on the dotted line. That kind of bothered me because I really liked the system.

What I found was that Vivint was re-branded in 2011 from its original brand of APEX. Much of the speculation and facts of the re-branding centered on the negative criticisms, reviews, and complaints from customers. Although Vivint has a BBB rating of C+, it still shows 1,800 closed complaints. Closed only means that they made contact with the complainant, not necessarily satisfied the complaint.

I looked up reviews online and found many negative reviews about the service, especially that the promises the salesman made were not reflected on the actual contract. Another common complaint was the poor customer service when it came time to cancel the service or when a customer had to move. Basically, the customer was locked in to a five year contract with no possibility of parole.

One customer even said he disconnected his entire system and boxed it up, yet the control center told him it was working just fine. Of course, they were still charging him a monthly fee, which they automatically withdrew from his account. Another poor guy from Mission said that although his system seemed to be working just fine, Vivint was not actually monitoring his house for 3 months and claimed there was nothing they could do about it. That right there totally turned me off.

I still believe that the Vivint System is a good alarm system with many excellent features but, I just wasn’t going to risk a negative experience with a faceless company based in another state.

So, if any of my readers have had any experiences with Vivint, good or bad, please comment.

Reviews can be seen at:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/apx_alarm.html (one complaint from RGV posted here)

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/vivint (another RGV complaint here). Seems Vivint got a hold of ripoffreport since none of the 178 complaints are visible, only their statement about dedication to customer service.

http://www.reviews.com/home-security-systems/vivint/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/vivint-inc-austin

Vivant http://www.vivint.com/en/

5s in Hotels

A big safety concern women ask me about concerns hotel stays. That's understandable considering crimes in hotels are very common. I'd like to clarify that most hotels are very honest and trying to run a legitimate business. Many go out of their way to ensure your comfort and convenience, but unknowingly fail in safety area because a simple lack of understanding. While many do hire security guards and install security cameras, their biggest security flaw are their minimum wage employees who know the building well and it's weaknesses. When they find a weakness, they exploit it and the guest becomes a victim. Your part in hotel security depends more on YOU, not the hotel staff.

There a lot of websites and safety “experts” out there that dole out hotel safety advice for women. Some are OK, some are so-so and many others are way outdated and useless. I’ve even seen government sights giving out safety advice that only address the common sense basics with no mention of the new break in techniques and outdated hotel security procedures. Well, I’ve taken much of the relevant advice, updated it, and included your new Advent Personal Security tips.

The following safety tips are most applicable for hotel stays, (think motels, guest houses, beds and breakfasts, rental cabins, especially if you’re alone. (This is covered in the Advent presentation).

When the time comes to book your room, don't just look at rates and amenities -- pay close attention to location as well. Is the hotel in an upscale residential neighborhood, a bustling business district or a seedy commercial area? Is it safe to walk around after dark? Is there a police station nearby? All of these factors could affect the likelihood of a break-in or assault during your stay. You can find neighborhood information online or in a good guidebook. But, be wary of commercial sites that promote hotels, they tend to use deceptive altered photos of the hotels.

 

Start using the 5 Ss when approaching the hotel, SITUATION. Evaluate the layout. Are the doors facing the outside or inside of the building. Is the lot / building well lit. Is the front desk is staffed 24 hours a day.  Is the location among other business or in a residential area.

When making reservations, reserve the room under Mr. & Mrs. Name. That will give any questionable staff the impression that there will be a man present rather than a single female. If you are questioned about your spouse at check-in time, you can simply state that he will be in later. (He’s out getting ammo). Or, don't be gender specific when you reserve your room, use your first initial and your last name.

Do not use titles such as Dr.,  Atty. at Law, etc. when reserving or checking in. Those titles may tip off crooks that you may have currency, lots of credit cards, and other expensive items with you.

When making reservations, ask for a room between the second and sixth floor.  A first floor room is easier to break into from the outside and the second through 6^th floors are easier to access by fire ladders.

Actual hotel

Brochure photo

 

When checking in, ask that your room number be written down and handed to you rather than loudly announced. Be wary of anyone standing by the front desk waiting to hear your room number being announced. Tell the staff not to give out your name or room number to anyone.  Take a business card or matchbook with the hotel address on it. If you need to take a cab or ask for directions when returning to your hotel, you’ll have the exact location as there may be multiple hotels in a large city.

Ask if the room phone can make outside calls in case you need to make a 911 call. The part time security guard in the lobby is probably not qualified to handle a break in or attack.  He is paid by the hotel to give the illusion of safety and sometimes there, more to protect the hotel from you, rather than you from an attacker or intruder.

Find out if there is an unmanned entry / exit to the parking garage.  These unmanned entries are an easy entry for crooks and thieves since many don’t go by the front desk.

SEE. When going to your room, make a mental note of exits, stairwells, elevator, and fire extinguisher locations.

SENSE. When getting in elevators, enter an empty elevator and stand by the control panel. When entering an elevator occupied by a sole male, use you best judgment or sixth sense.  A gentleman will understand if you don’t enter. You can even fake forgetting your key if you don’t feel comfortable entering the elevator with a male inside.

SECURE. Once in your room, lock the door and check all places someone could hide, closets, baths, etc. once your satisfied, install you door alarm and or door bar. Check to ensure the peephole is properly installed and place a post-it or band aid over the peep hole. Decide where you will keep your stun gun then use your CC308 hidden camera detector to SCAN for hidden cameras. Concentrate on the bathroom, air vents, smoke detector. Note: A door chain that shows signs of being repaired could indicate a prior break-in. Feel free to ask for another room.

 

Text or call a family member to let them know you’re safe. Let someone know where you’re going when you leave the hotel. (See the Safety Location & Time Text post).

If someone knocks on the door claiming to be from the staff, call the front desk and verify.

Do NOT use the in room security safes for valuables or important documents! These safes are not covered by the hotel’s insurance and are easily defeated with default unlock codes almost every employee knows by heart. Instead, use the main safe at the front desk.

When you leave the room, do not put out the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, especially if you’re leaving valuables in the room.

Some safety experts say you should put out the "Do Not Disturb" sign to give the impression that someone is in the room.  If you’ve seen my demonstrations, the "Do Not Disturb" can be used to unlock the door latch. It’s best if you’re not in the room when that happens. It’s better to have something stolen rather than being assaulted. Stuff can be replaced, you can’t. Not putting the sign out also leaves a potential thieve not knowing for sure if the room is occupied. He may not want a confrontation with the unknown occupant.

Hotel brochure

 

Same pool in brochure

 

If you do experience a crime during your stay, don't simply complain to the hotel -- file a police report as well. Your homeowners' insurance policy may cover certain losses during your travels, and the insurance company will need a copy of the police report and any other relevant documentation.

Hotel brochure
 



Actual pool surfer dude is in.

I've included the funny brochure photos to show how willing a hotel is into deceiving you. If they'll deceive you with trick photography, what else can they deceive you with? 

 

Sleep tight.

Grinch in the Doggie Door

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. Many of us got to see family and receive plenty of nice gifts for Christmas. Well, Christmas can also be bummer for people because Christmas is also a busy time for crooks who would rather steal, than work. One California found this out the hard way.

A family in southern California is finding out about the Grinch the hard way.  A brazen group of thieves apparently entered the Gmelich home through the doggie door and made off with televisions, presents from under a Christmas tree, and an urn containing ashes of their grandparents.

"They literally stole my mom and dad," Gmelich told NBC News. The thieves, who are still on the loose, left behind fingerprints and footprints, and that afternoon, a neighbor's security camera caught them walking out with items from Gmelich's home. He told KTLA that they took between two and five minutes to pull off the holiday heist.

The doggie door is normally used for Gmelich's 100-pound pooch, Guffman, who he said is more of a lover than a fighter.

"Once they got in, he probably befriended them because he's a friendly guy," Gmelich told NBC News.

The worst loss in the theft, Gmelich said, was the stuff he'll never get back: the ashes, his grandfather's World War II medals, and his father’s Vietnam medals and ribbons.

 

 

Advent: This is a reason I always recommend multiple layers of security in your home. Even if the Gmelichs had an alarm system, they didn’t consider the doggie door. Obviously, the Gmelich’s 100 lb pooch was not a layer of protection. If they would of had a motion detector, invisible ink on their property, inside locking door chains, or even electrical fence wiring, they could possibly still have their belongings, and their Christmas too. I can guarantee that those extra layers of protection are still cheaper than what it will cost to replace those things that can be replaced.

Never underestimate a crook. Most crooks are unemployed and have nothing to do all day but think up ways to rob you blind. They have nothing to lose and all the time they need.

Protect yourself now.



Ring Ring, Hello, I'm You!

How much can someone with ill intent find out about you by listening to all your voice mails? A criminal just might be able to piece together enough information to start stalking, extort, or blackmail just by listening to your phone voice mails. How? Simple, the $5.00 SpoofCard app which spoofs (impersonates) any phone number the user wants. Once that user gets your phone number, he will simply dial your number, by spoofing your number with the app, once your phone answers, the dialer presses * or #, and your voice mails will start playing.

SpoofCard screenshots on iPhone and Windows phone

                   

The app will trick the phone carrier into believing that that the phone call is coming from your phone and access your voice mails. (See how this app can be used to stalk someone in the CYBERSTALKING post, Dec 13).

Now how do you protect yourself from this type of privacy invasion? Simple, change your phone voice mail preferences and setting up a strong password or PIN.

AT&T

1.  Press and hold 1 to call into the voice mail system from your wireless device.

2.  Press * to skip to the main menu.

3.  Press 4 for personal options.

4.  Press 2 for administrative options.

5.  Press 1 for password options.

6.  Press 1 to turn password on or off.

7.  Press 2 to turn password on.

When prompted, enter your four- to 15-digit password, then press the # key.

Sprint

1.  Access your voice mail account from your Sprint phone.

2.  Once in the main menu, choose "change personal options."

3.  Next, choose "administrative options."

4.  You will hear "skip passcode is currently turned on." To turn it off, follow the prompts.

5.  The passcode you originally created will be played to you. Be sure to remember it, as you will need to enter it to gain access to your voice mail in the future.

T-Mobile

To turn off/on your voice mail password security, follow these steps:

1.  Call your voice mailbox from your mobile phone by pressing and holding the 1 key or by dialing 123.

2.  Once you arrive at your voice mailbox, press the * key to ensure you are in the main menu area.

3.  To access the password security menu, press the 5 key.

4.  To toggle your password on or off, press the 2 key.

Verizon

Verizon is the one major cell carrier in the U.S. that requires you enter your PIN every time you access your voice mail. In fact, you have to jump through a little hoop if you want things set differently. So odds are, if you're a Verizon customer, you're already safe from this kind of an attack on your voice mail.

Change your default PIN

But, you're only as safe as your personal identification number. If you've never set up a PIN for your voice mail account, you might have a default one, and anyone could dial in from any number, use the default PIN, set up a new password thereby locking you out of your own voicemail account. They’ll be able to listen to your listen to your messages, but you won’t. To keep your voice mail private, you should set up a PIN or change your default PIN as soon as you can. Avoid using birthdates, addresses, or any other number associated with you.

Talk Safety.

Another Lock Bites the Dust

After every Advent presentation, the inevitable question is asked, what is the best deadbolt on the market? Well, sorry to say that I have yet to find the deadbolt lock that cannot be bumped, picked, or defeated.

Let me try to explain the lock paradox here. People have a common belief that they must have a deadbolt lock on their doors because “experts” have trained us over the years to believe that deadbolt locks are the most secure type of lock for a door. Naturally, safety conscious people want the best type. The paradox comes into play because, deadbolt lock technology has not changed at all since it’s introduction, but the methods for defeating deadbolts has advanced to the point that deadbolts are no longer truly secure, and because so many people are unaware of this fact, they still cling to the only belief they’ve ever known, that deadbolts are the safest type of lock for their door.

Unfortunately, crooks are very well aware of this fact since most of them developed the methods to defeat the locks. Thanks to the deep web and hidden websites on the internet, they quickly spread this information to other crooks around the world.

So, one lady who watched my presentation later called my and told me she found a deadbolt that couldn’t be bumped. It said so on the package! I didn’t want to break it to her but, it was still easily defeated just as quickly by using another well-known technique. This poor lady spent $95 on a vulnerable lock to replace an $80 vulnerable lock.

That brings up another aspect to the paradox. People also have a misconception that if you want something better, you have to pay more. In this case, the issue here is not to pay more for better, but to block the technique which defeats your lock with simplicity! In most case, it’s cheaper too!

The deadbolt she is referring to is the KwikSet SmartkeyÔ lock system which the maker touts as:

Bump proof

Drill resistant

ANSI Grade 1 (highest level of residential security)

Superior pick resistant

Comes with a SmartKeyÔ learn tool to re-key your lock in seconds.

KwikSet Deadbolt with Bump Guard.

KwikSet Smart KeyÔ (seems I could make one of these with a piece of tin).

Ok, but does all that mean it can’t be defeated? No. Those are qualities of the lock, and they may be true, but that does not necessarily mean it has the ability to secure you door any better than your current deadbolt.

One advertisement for the KwikSet lock says: For those of you looking for a piece of mind when it comes to home security: the KwikSet's SmartKeyÔ deadbolt uses a new un-bumpable technology called a "side locking bar" instead of a traditional pins and tumblers system...The other notable feature of the KwikSet SmartkeyÔ system besides the stringent security feature is the option to self-program any key for the lock system yourself using a small adaptor which "learns" the new key, rendering the old one obsolete. So you can turn any old key into your new household key and streamline your keychain down to a single key, becoming your own locksmith.

(Note the words in italics, they are common positive “power words” commonly used in advertising to evoke an emotional response).

I don’t know about you, but that last line in the advertisement made me wonder, What’s to keep a crook from buying a lock just to get the adapter and “self program” his key to your lock? I don't know if that's possible, but I'm not taking that chance with my house.

As with the other techniques I show in my presentation, this lock only requires a $25 tool and a pair of household pliers to open.

As I have said before, the question should not be “What is the best lock”?  But, rather, how can I prevent my locks from being defeated? So, what’s the answer? I explain that in my presentation, and the solution is only $21.00. Still think you need to pay $95 for a “better” lock?

This post is not meant to downgrade or slander KwikSet. It is only meant as a warning to customers that the KwikSet SmartkeyÔ lock system is not as secure as advertised.

Guard yourself.