3 Ways to Protect Yourself

3 Ways to Protect Yourself

Things That Make You Think……..

Being Safe is something that we should all think about…But should we really think about safety from the mindset of a criminal?

Consider the following examples:

Action #1

A family left their car in the long-term “safe park” parking lot at the airport while away on vacation.

Result:

Someone broke into their car and by using the information on the registration and insurance cards in the glove compartment, they were able to find out where the owner lived. When the family returned home, they discovered their house had been robbed.

Something to think about….

If you are planning on leaving your car in the parking lot, perhaps you should remove the paperwork and garage opener from the visor and glove box. Simply putting them in the trunk would at least slow down would be robbers.

Action #2

Excited to be attending a home game of their favorite professional football team, a couple discovered that their vehicle had been broken into during the game. Their vehicle had been parked in the lot that was reserved for “box seat holder” football fans.

Result:

Several items had been taken from the vehicle including their garage door remote, cash and their GPS (which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard).  When the couple arrived home, they discovered their house had been ransacked.  The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the couples home.  They entered the house with the remote through the garage. They knew based on where the vehicle had been parked that the owner was at the game. With this knowledge, the thieves had plenty of time to completely ransack the home and remove almost anything of value.

Something to think about….

Consider removing your GPS from the mount on the dash when parking in a public lot. Don’t list “home” as a location on your favorite list on the GPS. Instead, list a nearby store, hotel or park. This new “home” location would be close enough to get you headed home from any other location but would not lead someone directly to your door should your GPS unit be stolen.

Action #3

A woman had her purse stolen while dining at a local restaurant. Her purse, like most of ours, contained her cell phone, credit cards, wallet, etc.

Result:

After calling the police, she called her husband from her friend’s cell phone to let him know what had happened. He informed her that he had received her text asking about their Pin number and had replied via text. By the time they called the bank, most of their funds had been withdrawn. Same thing with their credit cards – most had been used online within moments of obtaining the pin number.

Something to think about….

Your PIN number should not be the same on all your accounts. You should never text banking information to ANYONE, even your spouse. Anytime sensitive information is being asked through a text, pick up the phone and call the person directly.

Another safety thought would be to not disclose and relationship between you and the people in your contact list.  Avoid using pet names such as Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc…. And if you receive a text asking where you are or if you will meet up somewhere, be sure to call them back to confirm. If you are unable to reach them, be very careful about going to meet them.

One the flip side… It is strongly suggested that you have a contact listed in your cell phone under ICE (stands for In Case of Emergency) – this should be a phone number of someone that would know what to do, whom to call, where to go ~ should something happen to you.

These examples certainly give us something to think about with all our new electronic technology!