GPS Security --
GPS Tracking Systems
Could Endanger Your Home

GPS Security -- GPS Tracking Systems Could Endanger Your Home

Don't make this mistake with your portable GPS tracking devices.

GPS tracking systems, increasingly used for vehicle navigation, are posing a new home security risk you probably never even considered. Most of us would never think that portable GPS security would be linked to home security.

But some clever thieves are committing crimes of opportunity that make your GPS unit a threat to your home security.

How does it work? Consider this scenario:

Recently, football fans who parked their car in a special lot near the stadium, designated specifically for game day parking, discovered their car had been broken into during the game. Among the items stolen from the vehicle were a garage door opener, some cash, and a GPS vehicle tracking system, which had been prominently mounted on the dash.

To make an already bad situation infinitely worse, when the victims returned home, they discovered their house had been ransacked and almost everything they owned of any value had been stolen. How did this happen?

You guessed it. The car thieves used the stolen GPS device to guide them to the owner's home, where the garage door opener gave them entry to the garage. From there, they easily gained access to the house.

In this particular case, it appears the thieves brought along a truck to haul off the valuables. They knew the homeowners were at the game, and they knew approximately when the game would end, so they knew just how much time they had to clean out the house. (They were just lucky that everyone went to the game, and there was no one left behind at home.)

This is one case in which the homeowners certainly could have benefitted from a home security system! At least it would have served as a last line of defense. Security systems for homes are invaluable, and the best home security usually includes a monitored home alarm system. In this case, it would have at least alerted authorities to the intrusion, and police likely would have arrived in time to catch the thieves red-handed.

To Protect Your Home,
Re-Program Your Portable GPS Tracking Systems

In order to save your family from the same headache, make sure you do not enter your actual home address into your handheld GPS device. Instead, enter the address of a nearby business (grocery store, gas station, Wal-Mart, shopping mall), church, or large apartment complex as your "home" location. Or better yet, a nearby police station! You'll still know how to get home, but you won't be leading thieves directly to your front door!

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