NOT ALL THIEVES ARE STUPID   
       
   1. LONG-TERM PARKING   
   Some people left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose while away,   
   and someone broke into the car.  Using the information on the car's   
   registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home   
   in Pebble Beach and robbed it.  So I guess if we are going to leave the car in   
   long-term parking, we should NOT leave the registration/insurance cards in it,   
   nor your remote garage door opener.  This gives us something to think about   
   with all our new electronic technology.   
       
   2. GPS:   
   Someone 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 that 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 the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the   
   house.  The thieves knew 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 its contents.  Something to consider if you have a GPS -   
   don't put your home address in it.  Put a nearby location -- or best of all,   
   the local police station (if nearby) so 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.   
       
   3. CELL PHONES:   
   I never thought of this!  This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists   
   her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen.  Her handbag, which   
   contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. Twenty   
   minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had   
   happened, hubby says, "I received your text asking about our Pin number and   
   I've replied a little while ago."  When they rushed down to the bank, the bank   
   staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.  The thief had actually   
   used the stolen cell phone to text "hubby" in the contact list and got hold of   
   the pin number.  Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their   
   bank account.   
       
   Moral lesson:   
   A. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact   
   list.  Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.   
   b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts,   
   CONFIRM by calling back.   
   c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere,   
   be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't   
   reach them, be very careful about going places to meet "family and friends"   
   who text you.   
       
   4. PURSE IN THE GROCERY CART SCAM:   
   A lady went grocery-shopping at a local mall and left her purse sitting in the   
   children's seat of the cart while she reached something off a shelf. Wait till   
   you read the WHOLE story!  Her wallet was stolen, and she reported it to the   
   store personnel.  After returning home, she received a phone call from the   
   Mall Security to say that they had her wallet and that although there was no   
   money in it, it did still hold her personal papers.  She immediately went to   
   pick up her wallet, only to be told by Mall Security that they had not called   
   her.  By the time she returned home again, her house had been broken into and   
   burglarized.  The thieves knew that by calling and saying they were Mall   
   Security, they could lure her out of her house long enough for them to   
   burglarize it.   
       
   Mostly common sense, but a reminder never hurts!   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)