How To Prevent Car Theft
You know how it is when parking a car in unfamiliar places, especially areas that seem a little dubious? We become cautious, with maybe heightened awareness. We double check because we are concerned about leaving the vehicle. Yet in familiar areas, perhaps the local town, we can be complacent and thinking about how to prevent car theft doesn’t enter our mind. This is a mistake.
Subverting Car Technology
Car thieves are not concerned about where the target car is so much as what precautions have been made to protect it. These nefarious folk are bang up to date on car security technology and have ways to subvert the latest keyless car technology. It is therefore up to owners to come up with solutions as to how to stop car theft.
How To Prevent Car Theft
There are many ways to help secure a vehicle. Some require nothing more than some common sense; others require professional intervention to deter car thieves. Let’s review the options:
The Obvious
Thieves like to target high-end cars but no vehicle is absolutely safe as they all have a value one way or the other. So consider the basics, like, with a regular key lock, checking all the doors to make sure central locking has functioned; don’t forget the boot either, storing valuables out of sight. With Autumn upon us and winter coming soon, it is now more than ever important to remember that in colder weather, leaving the keys in a car while it ‘warms up’ isn’t the best idea either as opportunists will swiftly take advantage.
Simple Precautions
Some cars are fitted with an alarm to prevent car theft but these days they are easily dealt with in seconds by expert crooks who have done their homework. Fit a supplementary and obvious device, like a steering wheel lock that engages with a foot pedal.
Another good and budget friendly idea would be an OBD protector lock. It is a legal requirement for all modern cars to have an OBD port built in at the factory, usually under the dashboard where diagnostic equipment can be plugged in to read engine faults and the like. These sockets can also be used to hack a vehicle using a computer, but not if the socket is protected by an OBD lock which will fit any car and is secured with combination screws. It’s a worthwhile extra for any popular make of car.
Business Users
Vehicle security isn’t just for private owners of course. Business fleet cars, vans and trucks can be protected these days by using car trackers and alternative telematic solutions for monitoring commercial vehicles. Systems such as the Revista Telematics Fleet Tracker offers low per unit cost for example and can track your vehicle via an app or the online web portal.
Other Vehicles
Caravans and motorhomes are also at risk and it pays to consider how to stop a thief helping themselves to leisure vehicles. Fitting a tracker to a caravan means that it too can be located swiftly by the authorities. The Smartrack Caravan tracker is ideal because it’s monitored twenty-four hours a day, is approved by Thatcham Research who are the leaders in vehicle security, and offers coverage in over 100 countries; perfect for any touring unit.
High End Vehicles
These are the car thieves' vehicles of choice. Anything with a prestigious reputation is very sought after. It’s important then that the lucky owners know how to prevent car theft. The use of car trackers and immobilisers is imperative: Range Rovers are a case in point. They may be fitted with security at the factory but even this prestigious brand still recommends fitting the best car tracker available.
The company even recommends a specific Brand of tracker system: The Trackstar range of units which are again, Thatcham certified, gives global GPS coverage and can include immobiliser technology among its arsenal of security options. The units must be professionally fitted and hidden (slowing down thieves who might try to disconnect them) with some suppliers such as ineedatracker.com offering a mobile service nationally for this purpose.
Protect Against Keyless Car Theft
A fairly recent addition to modern car technology has been keyless entry. As long as the fob or key is with the driver in a pocket or bag upon approaching the car with keyless entry it will unlock automatically. Some vehicles require a push-button to be pressed to unlock.
Relay theft, as it is known, is the latest criminal car theft weapon whereby a device is used to fool the car into thinking the key is close by. This unlocks the car and starts the ignition. Close proximity to the fob is all crooks need to intercept the signal, even when the actual key itself is inside the family home.
Why Car Trackers & Car Immobilisers?
In addition to being an aid to the police in swiftly locating a stolen vehicle, the best car trackers have additional functions to offer various types of protection. Thatcham-approved Category 7 trackers for example, offer tamper and tow-away alerts and are very affordable. Some, like the Scorpiontrack S7 unit also have European coverage as standard.
Immobilisers do as the name suggests. The best of them offer a raft of features like protection against key cloning and theft. They can of course be fairly expensive but with prestige vehicles from brands like Range Rovers and Porsche, it’s a small price to pay. More to the point, the insurance company will love you for it and may well show their appreciation by way of lower premiums and that’s something every motorist wants, especially these days.
There Are Many Quality Products Available To Protect Against Car Theft
This hopefully provides useful answers on how to prevent car theft. There are very many quality products available across the price range that can be fitted at home. Remember, cars, caravans and commercial vehicles are high-cost items that owners tend to leave outside, day and night. Of course, a locked garage is useful but not all owners have that luxury, so items worth many thousands of pounds are left outside and thus become easy targets. It’s a battleground between manufacturer security and tech-savvy crooks. Sway the balance of power in your favour by fitting additional car security sourced from a recommended supplier.
