Being old and stupid has it's benefits sometimes in a world where everyone else thinks they are smarter than you.
Posted on 02/12/2021 3:12:46 AM PST by sodpoodle
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 address (like a store or gas station) 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 When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.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 Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.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.
#3 shouldn’t happen anymore with cell phones. It’s too easy to set a PIN, use a thumbprint, or even your face to lock the phone.
I wish someone would come to see me on those occasions when I am home alone.
” 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 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.”
I’m usually pretty quick in figuring out how thieves think, having been considering that career option since middle school. But it did take me a couple of times to figure out that having Uber (or a Taxi) pick you up right in front of your house with a boatload of luggage is not very smart (especially if it’s obvious that the family is going on a vacation, rather than just dad on a business trip). So we then walked a block to the park, luggage and all. Still not a perfect plan as Uber drivers have our first names, and could look up nearby houses that way, but it helps slow them down.
Lots of other tactics and someday I’ll make a list of them.
Hardly likely, as there is almost always a limit on the amount that can be pulled.
Reminds me of buddy that owned a Cadillac Cimarron back in the 1980s. He traveled by air several times a month and used that car to and from the airport. He hated that car and always left it in the airport lot unlocked with the key in the ignition. It was always still sitting there when he got back.
Being old and stupid has it's benefits sometimes in a world where everyone else thinks they are smarter than you.
I knew a guy who did that with his accordion. Left it in the back seat in his unlocked car, only to find the next day that there were two accordions there.
I guess “all the money” was about $450.
“Being old and stupid has it’s benefits”
My daughters say I trust people too much = and after some terrifying experiences in the last few years - they are right!!!
“we told you” !!!!!!
A friend of mine left his old, beater car in the ghetto area of Phoenix, with the keys in the ignition. The next day, the vehicle was still there.
bump
I visited my mom after they moved into their new house. She unlocked the back door and the alarm beeped a couple of times. She went over and typed in the PIN. I saw the piece of paper taped to the wall with numbers on it.
I said “Mom! This makes your alarm system useless!”
She answered, “I’m not that dumb son. That’s the panic code. If someone tries to use it for the PIN, they have a nasty surprise coming.”
Sheesh! No wonder I never got away with anything as a kid. She was a step ahead of me the whole time.
There are still pay phones?
Good advice.
The bad guys still aren’t smart enough to think while the wife is shopping, hubby might be home watching the doorbell and cleaning his guns with big Fido at his feet.
Quite clever. Kudos to mom!
You’ve got to have your phone “lifted” with your pertinent info.
Maybe they did not have all that much in the account.
a few years back..... a guy would drive down the parking aisle at our Walmart and steal the purse out of the baby seat of the cart.
While you are putting the bags in the trunk, and you leave your purse for last? Well now i throw my purse in the trunk 1st ( just have car fob in your pocket)
Guy did not even have to get out of his car to steal.
Very possible. It happened to us when I was overseas. My wife back in the US had her wallet stolen with a debit card/ATM card and ID in it while at a restaurant. By the time she noticed it thirty minutes later, someone had gone to a local bank and withdrawn all the money in that account. I suspect a bank teller was at fault if not in on the deal, but it happened.
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