Video: A thief's-eye view of gadget theft
Posted: Monday, August 21 2006 at 06:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
Our gadgets are our lifeline to the 21st century digital world. So why do we neglect them so? Why do we leave DVD players, GPS navigation systems, iPods, CD players and more lying around in our cars -- in plain sight -- just inviting them to be stolen?
Recently, my GPS was stolen from my car, so I became personally curious about the problem. And as it turns out, gadget theft from cars is skyrocketing -- up 30 percent in four years, according to the FBI's most recent statistics.
But those are just stats. To get an idea just how bad the problem is, we visited Paramus, N.J., just a few miles west of Manhattan, where the local police have set up a task force to deal with the problem of stolen gadgets. Click on the video above to see our journey, or read below. NBC Producer Andy Gross, editors Von Brunson and Mike Covert, and MSNBC producer cameraman Kevin Flynn help me tell this story.
"Theft from autos has definitely gone up," said Paramus Chief Of Police Frederick J. Corrubia. "And the main reason is that all these units are portable and people fail to secure them in their vehicles."
To prove his point, Corrubia graciously lent us a detective for a few hours to give us a thief’s eye view of the problem. So with Detective Sgt. Robert Guidetti, we prowled the Garden State Plaza shopping center looking for easy targets. There were hundreds.
"We got one car parked ... right up close to the mall, but unfortunately they leave their GPS unit and the satellite radio right on the front dash," Guidetti said, motioning to one obvious target. "Just being close to the mall, that isn't gonna stop anybody from breaking the window. They will just walk on to the other side of the car where they are not seen and the view is being blocked by a van."
When we peered inside, we found even more electronics
"I see a laptop on the front seat (and) a mini DVD player," Guidetti said.
The problem isn't just theoretical. Stephanie Sorace, a hairstylist at the Garden State Plaza, had her GPS stolen from her car earlier this year.
"The insurance only covered about $600 so i was our about $500 with that," she said. "I was completely devastated with that because I was looking forward to that navigation system for so long and I finally got the money to get it."
Sorace had left her unit right on her dashboard. Not all victims are quite so obvious. When mine was stolen, I had taken the time to stash the GPS in an accessory box between my car seats. But I left the $20 plastic mount on the dashboard. When I came out in the morning, my passenger seat was full of broken class.
Empty GPS mounts, I was told by the man who replaced my auto glass, are a neon sign telling criminals, "GPS inside!" Car chargers left in the cigarette lighter offer similar hints.
So how do consumers protect themselves against gadget theft? For starters, put everything electronic in your backpack, and take it with you, or stash it in your trunk. That also includes accessories that serve as hints to criminals, like dashboard mounts or car chargers. Criminals are far less likely to pry open a car trunk looking for tech to take, chief Corrubia says. You'll be safer, he said, and taking a few extra moments to store your gadgets safely will give law enforcement agencies like his more time to deal with bigger problems.
"We are all in this together. what we have to do is pull together," he said. "If we secure all our items we may be able to cut car insurance costs for theft."
Fraud alert system broken, study says
EMAIL THIS
TRACKBACKS
Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do no appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b0aa69e200d834ae329753ef
advertisement
BUY BOB SULLIVAN'S BOOK
Bob Sullivan's new book unmasks hundreds of hidden fees and offers step-by-step instructions on how to fight back. Order it here.
Or Pre-order Bob's new book, Stop Getting Ripped Off: , coming Dec. 29.
Red Tape Video
RED TAPE ARCHIVES
