EARLY WARNING - The Stolen GPS

EARLY WARNING

The Stolen GPS


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting January 2010.

I received this story from my friend and colleague Toni Guerrero, who writes:

“A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.

When the victims got home, they found their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.

The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used that garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew that the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of it’s contents.

Something to consider if you have a GPS – don’t put your home address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so that you can still find your way home if you need to, but no-one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.”

Sounds like sound advice to me. One of the things that I have realized during my time on this planet is the fact that everything good thing that comes into our lives has a ‘dark side’ and people who are that way inclined will always find a way to use that to their own advantage. This is just one example of that.

So take care, beware, be aware and stay safe.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za