# Social Category > The Whistleblower Forum >  Personal Details

## Trickzta

This came in the mail today, I thought I'd share it.


A reader passed this along and I thought it was worthwhile for you to know about. I haven't checked if the stories are true, but regardless they serve as a good warning to protect yourself.

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.  20 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  When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.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 of the story:
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...

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 'til 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.



*PLEASE PASS THIS ON
Even if this does not pertain to you... Pass it on to your family and friends.

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Dave S (05-Dec-13), NAD2011 (09-May-14)

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## adrianh

Interesting food for thought. I for one am very careless when ot comes to such things.

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Trickzta (05-Dec-13)

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## Dave S

Thanks Trickzta, it's a very good list and sure opened my eyes, I have "infringed" on all four points and now it's back to the drawing board to re-think a new strategy.

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Trickzta (05-Dec-13)

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## Trickzta

I'm also guilty of being far too careless and trusting, I've now removed my house keys from their semi-permanent home in my car and changed my home address on my GPS, I'm still busy with my cell phone info. I have a entry under contacts called ICE, I put it on my cell to help identify me in case of emergency. The SAPS recommended that members of the public do this to assist them trace your family if, say you're in an accident and unable to inform the Authorities of your next of kin. Not sure what to do about this, it's a double edged sword.
Take care.

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## adrianh

I am in favour of putting plastic explosives in everything that I own. If it doesn't recognize you as a friend then you are instantly vaporized!

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Trickzta (25-Jan-14)

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## Dave S

> I am in favour of putting plastic explosives in everything that I own. If it doesn't recognize you as a friend then you are instantly vaporized!


You speak of this, but there was a case about 20-25 or so years ago, where a Boksburg chap kept a bottle of whisky laced with Dieldrin, in his cubby-hole. The idea was that if anyone stole his bakkie they would certainly find the whisky, have a party, and pay with their lives. Somehow the message got out and the cops arrested him before any such event happened. This could just be a myth, can't say for sure.

I still go for the American law, "if a life (criminal) is lost during the perpetration of a crime, it is considered as self defense". Not sure to what extent this still applies? But if one wants to commit crime, then they have placed themselves outside the law and thereby the law should not protect them.

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Trickzta (25-Jan-14)

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