GPS Thefts on the Rise

I saw a GPS mounted on the dash of an OPEN TOP convertible parked next to me just last week in the parking lot of Target. My wife and I could not believe it.

At least make an effort to reasonably protect your items.

I mean the GPS or the car or both

I'm sure the numbers are real, and people are careless. I have seen the convertable with GPS as well!!!!

But...I think there are a lot more GPS units out there too, so the drastic increase kind of makes sense.

This is also a theft item that is unique in a few ways that make it a very good theft item:

-A thief can tell from 100 feet or more away from your vehicle that you have a GPS. They do not have to walk around your vehicle or leave their vehicle to target it. Name another item INSIDE your car like that. Even the "limo" tint on my SUV does not help obscure the GPS since the front window is untinted by law.

-Can leave an obvious telltale mark on the front window that hints at the possibility of a GPS in the car.

-After planning from some distance away from your vehicle (no lurking needed)...thieves can take the item in 5 seconds or so including breaking the window.

-Unlike cell phones, car stereos and similar stolen items, there is typically no way to track or disable the GPS. That adds to the high rate of theft and resale.

-High demand makes them easy to sell on the used market and absent the original box and manual the thief typically has stolen basically everything included with the original GPS. No hanging/open wires or missing cords seen with other stolen electronics.

Makes the GPS a nice target.

I had a friend at work have his window smashed in. In broad daylight to get his GPS. very sad.

The beanbag mount leaves no evidence that it was there, like the suction cup circle mark on the windshield.

OLYMPIC GOLD MAKES A BIG SPLASH ON THE NÜVI -
.....A Simple Splash Screen For Lost/Stolen Nüvis

It is on Page 5 of

GARMIN NUVI TRICKS, TIPS, ETC.

http://snipurl.com/garmin_gps_tricks

Gary Hayman
Greenbelt, Maryland

Hi,

So far I am unable to get that Splash Screen to display while I have the pin lock in place.

Although easy to steal if left unattended in your vehicle, isn't it impossible to activate the unit without the correct pin and/or security location?.

Does anyone know if the unit will disable itself if an incorrect pin is entered numerous times?.

If not, this should be added to Garmin's security feature. All someone has to do is keep entering numbers until they hit the correct one. There are only 9999 combination's. I agree it would take some time to crack, but it is possible.

Once the pin and/or location is known, all someone has to do is erase your splash screen.

Mike

Thanks for the link!
I live in the burbs of chitcago..

But..then again I see this garbage all the time.
Too many losers and 'products of the state' running around.

I had my Nuvi 360 stolen out of my truck while it was parked in the drive way last week. Power cable and mount were out of sight in the back and the 360 was in the arm rest/console. I think someone scoped it out and saw me put it away. Of course this happened right before we were to head out of town for the Labor Day weekend. I won't be leaving the new unit in the truck.

Just an FYI, you should try to avoid leaving your GPS in your car for long periods (over an hour). The high temperature inside a parked car drastically reduces the life of the battery.

Thanks for the heads up, I did not know that.

For those interested, here is an excellent site to learn about batteries http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

My son's Magellan 2200T was stolen in a smash and grab car burglary last weekend.

Garmin is doing good with that locked/antitheft feature.

I never leave my GPS in my vehicle! It reminds me of when Radar detectors were a hot item and the theft of the units was pretty high, I was always hearing about windows being smashed just for the Radar detectors! And does it really matter about the security feature, if your GPS is stolen the security feature isn't going to return the unit to you! And I'm sure there is away around the feature, and thief's would know it!

I recently purchased a Nuvi 880 after a long search of almost 12 months, reading many, many reviews for most if not all of the GPS systems out there. No need to go into the weaknesses in the other systems that caused me to select the Nuvi 880. But once I did have it in my grubby paws I was determined to take good care of it.

That meant I needed a case to protect it. As I stood examining the price ranges for the Garmin cases at Best Buy a sales person inquired if he could assist me. I told him what I was looking for and was deciding if I would get the $20.00 or $50.00 case.

I was asked if it ‘HAD’ to be a Garmin case. I said no, and he took me over to where the Nintendo DS Lite Carrying Case was displayed. For $10.99 I got a great black case with hard front and back panels covered with foam inside to protect the screen and nylon on the outside, wrist strap, a small carabineer and a front zipper pouch which is great for holding the Micro SD adapter. No advertizing GARMIN tag on the outside to let everyone know what’s inside. Just a plain black case. Where I go this little gem goes. Be it at work, home or the many other points in between.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0926INGF...

If you decide to get one there will be a small alteration required. Inside the case is a clear rubber/plastic sleeve meant to hold the Nintendo DS in place. Using a sharp knife or other sharp tool cut out the sleeve as close to the edge as possible. Your Garmin or other GPS will fit in perfectly.

Nice tip on the case.

I actually bought the new case that is made for the Garmin 800 series for less than $20 from Amazon last week. The Garmin name is very subtlely molded into the soft leather black case and is barely visible. Plus it fits perfectly and has room for sd cards.

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Nuvi-800-Carrying-Case/dp/B0012...

But I may actually get the one you suggested and use it also.

Now am I going to have to worry about everyone trying to steal what they think is my Nintendo DS and games since the case has that prominent logo on the outside?

I know that the picture on the Best Buy Site shows a logo but mine is just plain black.

I think you'll be pleased with the case. I showed my uncle my case and he was impressed enough to go out and get one for his Garmin.

The extra bit of padding makes a cozy nest for the Garmin. The carabineer can hook on 'things' and prevents an accidental oopsy.

I checked my Nuvi 260 and it looks like it doesn't have a splash screen feature. Oh well...

It worked GREAT! I'm not really familiar with MS Paint, but after a few minutes, I figured it out. I changed only the e-mail address and it is now installed on my Garmin nuvi 660. THANKS!!

Is there a way to track/disable the GPS thru Garmin after its stolen?

My friend just had his stolen last night and I feel for him since he just bought it and paid big money for it

The Gpsr is a reciever only, to track it, it would have to have a transmitter to it.

Hi,

Call Garmin and let them know the unit was lost/stolen.

This is a message sent to me from garmin in regards to a stolen/lost GPS.

"The big thing you want to do is if you do lose your unit of have it stolen is to report it stolen. That way if someone calls in with it, we have your account marked as a stolen device and we try to get them to send it in to us. Once we get it, we then get it back to you."

Mike

Additionally, they will require you to email or fax a copy of the police report. I sent mine in last week.

I made this entry a while ago, but I just learned that you CAN put a splash screen on the 260, but not the same way as described in Gary's tips & tricks pages. (Which are GREAT pages, BTW, but not tailored to cover every GPS out there, of course.)

On the 260, I just loaded the desired screen in the folder for pictures, and when you view the pictures, there is a selection to make it show at start. So there's the splash screen for the 260 at least.

Thank you Gary! It can't prevent the units theft, but maybe make the thief's life a little worse than it already is!

I too am amazed at what people leave out in plain view in their cars, iPods, phones and the like. The GPS might as well have a red light on it when left on the window. I park at O'Hare frequently and people leave their GPS out for weeks at a time. I used to work claims at O'Hare, and believe me break ins are very common. Even if it is a small value item, the damaged window and inconvenience is the problem.

By the way, most insurance does not cover the stolen item.

For my Nuvi 260, I just used my leather Roots PDA case.

(one of these. Not sure which one, bought mine a while back)
http://www.gentec-intl.com/Default.asp?mode=brn&brand_id=25&...

Since I got a Blackberry at work, my Plam Pilot was just sitting in its cradle at home.

The case is a perfect fit size wise. It does not have any pockets for accessories, but the clip makes it easy to attach it to my belt when I reach my destination.

Simon

There is a high incident of car break-ins in the DC area when just the GPS cradle or holder is visible. Best to remove all elements if possible.

I have one and it's very easy to put away.

This one: http://www.caselogic.com/6_capacity_usb_drive_shuttle/produc...

fits my Nuvi 200 very well. I removed the stitching that divides the inner mesh panel into 3 sections, leaving one large mesh pocket that the Nuvi slips into.

I found a Garmin nuvi 760 last Spring. The owner didn't register her Garmin, so the Garmin Customer Service people couldn't help. Some detective work and a few phone calls got her GPS, and a lot of other electronic gear, back to her in a couple of days. So, if you don't register your electronic gear it won't help if it's stolen or lost.

I try to always take mine down. at work I leave the mount up but take the unit out since my office window looks out at the parking lot and I park in view of it.

Leaving the gps mount or even the teltale ring on your window is a give away that can result in a broken window. Although they may not get your gps , you'll have to deal with the window replacement. Best to avoid any trace of having a gps in your vehicle.

gusb

The bean bag is the only way to go. Put the GPS in the glove box, and the bean bag under the seat

I no longer keep my mount on the widesheild. I made my own mount that can connect to the dash and stored in the glove box when not in use.

If you know where you are going, put your GPS and/or mount away well before you arrive.

If you can get directions via bluetooth headset, or through the car speakers, you can keep it out of sight, or even in the glovebox, if it will get signal.

This is what I plan to do, especially for motorcycle use. Keep the GPS in a tank bag or some such, and have a BT headset (if it will connect).

The moto specific GPS units are rediculous, they really put us over the barrel. I won't be getting one until they are priced fairly (which will probably be never).

I noticed that...I usually keep mine under my seat....But left if out once....Just working wacky..

I was in the urban core of my town and parked my vehicle. I put my GPS in my pocket to take with me. I was also careful to leave the mount and power cable in plain view so anyone could see the unit was missing. Didn't matter though......I walked about 50 feet and see a GPS sitting in a parked car and still powered on. they were looking for trouble

I got mine the other day. I like it, no more rings on your windshield. it stays put, and is easy to hide,
no problem.

Our local paper caught this story and put it on the front page. The story went into details on how easy it was to do a smash & grab on a bike and get away. So if there were any losers out there that hadn't thought of this - they will now.

No offense, but if you/we thought about it, they can think about it too. There are smart crooks...

Hi,

My window mount remains where it is, I don't like the beanbag dash mounts.

I have two small stickers on the driver & passenger side front windows that states the following:

The GPS Unit Has Been
Removed From This Vehicle

Mike

I too stopped using the windshield to mount my GPS. I now have it mounted on the instrument panel over the tachometer beside the speedometer. It's protected from the sun and very hard to see from the side windows. Driving or walking by would not alert any attention to the GSP.
May not work in all cars but it sure does in mine.

I usually carry a backpack with me when I go out. I just put my GPS in it when I exit the car because I know that there people out there who are more than willing to relieve me of it.

I am not quite sure how this would deter a crook or crackhead especially since you leave the mount visible. You may even be inviting more risk than before by adding the sticker. After all, a crook realizes it is just a sticker meant to deter and you may have by chance chosen to leave the GPS under the seat. They now KNOW you have a GPS somewhere.

If this works then I will add a sticker on my house windows that states "All valuables have been removed".

Hi,

Well, I'm not the only one with these stickers on their vehicle. My brother has had his GPS for well over two years, no break-ins. My friend next door has his for about a year, again no break-ins. I know of two ticket agents living in Red Hook that have had no problems with their mounts in the front window. For those of you that don't know anything about New York, Red Hook is "NOT" a nice neighborhood.

As for your other remark.

If this works then I will add a sticker on my house windows that states "All valuables have been removed".

Its just an asinine statement that serves no purpose other than to ridicule.

Mike

IMHO, you are asking for trouble if you keep your mount on your windshield AND you put stickers on your windows confirming you have a GPS.

If you advertise the fact that you own a GPS, most crooks will break your window to see if it is in the car. Even if you had removed your GPS, you now have to pay an insurance deductable to get your window repaired.

I'm intrigued about your set up. Can a photo be posted so we can see what it looks like? Or at the very least can you describe how you have it mounted so that it stays in place?