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Techno Thieves... They're Very Clever!

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX CROSSROADS

I recently received one of those "Hey! Watch out! Be careful!" emails that didn't report where it came from, who wrote it, nor how accurate/truthful it was. But since my mind does not work in these devious fashions, my next thought was "Very Clever"!  It appears that certain not-your-run-of-the-mill thieves have devised new methods of stealing!

The jist of the email is as follows:

Some avid football fans were at a game and had parked their car in the fan parking area. Their car was broken into and the GPS, garage door opener and some money were stolen.

Upon arriving home, they discovered that the house had been ransacked and all valuables were gone!  Apparently, the thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the home, used the garage door opener for easy entry and ,since this heist had been pre-planned, just backed the truck up, loaded up and drove off before the football game was over!

Then the email discussed our ever present cell phone!  A woman had had her purse stolen, which contained her cell phone, credit cards,wallet, bank ID, etc. (Many of us can relate to this tale!)  Upon discovering that the purse was gone (maybe from an open house?), she called her husband to tell him her tale of woe.  He replied that he HAD received her TEXT MESSAGE requesting their bank PIN number and had already sent it to her! (He had been identified as "hubby" in her cell phone!) They rushed to the bank but,alas, the thieves had already been there and the cash was gone!

These thieves put a lot of thought into these schemes!  (Is there a College for Thieves somewhere?)

Which now brings us to something-new-to-be-concerned about since most REALTORS use technology to the max!  Redo the identifiers in your phone (and ALL your family member's phones),keep your cell phone on your person, hide the GPS and garage door opener from view , no texting sensitive info, no meeting without voice confirming (clients included!), and I guess ballgames are now out of the question,too!

 

 

 

Posted by

KATHY OPATKA... Cell:              410-430-1860         410-430-1860... I LOVE REFERRALS!

RE/MAX Crossroads... 

11551 Coastal Highway, OCEAN CITY, Maryland  21842 ... A Wonderful RESORT TOWN!

Office: 410-723-3600  Email: kathyopatka@yahoo.com  Website: www.kathyopatka@yahoo.com

Licensed in Maryland & Delaware... Serving OCEAN CITY,MD and The Delaware Beaches: Bethany, Rehobeth, Dewey, Lewes, & Fenwick Island!

Comments(6)

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Charlie Ragonesi
AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA
Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros

The level of sophistication goes up with the level and ease of use of the technology. The smash and grab folks are starting to become a thing of the past

Jan 23, 2009 07:59 AM
Matt Stigliano
Kimberly Howell Properties (210) 646-HOME - San Antonio, TX

Kathy - I thought I should send this to you, its an article from Snopes.com.  If you've never been to Snopes.com, you should check it out.  Its full of emails, scams, urban legends, etc.  Its always informative and interesting and you'll find that a lot of the emails you read are either outright false or more creativity than truth.

Jan 23, 2009 08:07 AM
Lane Bailey
Century 21 Results Realty - Suwanee, GA
Realtor & Car Guy

Just today in the Atlanta area a punk was caught with BAGS of GPSs and digital cameras.  The police said the GPSs were pretty easy to find the owners for, and they were using pictures in the cameras to try to find the owners of those. 

Jan 23, 2009 09:51 AM
Margaret Woda
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD
Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Oh my, they are creative, aren't they?  'Glad to see you posting,Kathy.

Jan 23, 2009 03:32 PM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Kathy, wow, this is like the triple whammy hitting the car, home and ATM. Clever hombres here. We all need to watch out.

Jan 25, 2009 06:58 AM
Jim Frimmer
HomeSmart Realty West - San Diego, CA
Realtor & CDPE, Mission Valley specialist

When I first moved to San Diego in 1988, I left some coins in the console tray in my car. Thieves broke in to get them, probably about 75¢ total, but it cost me $500 for a new window and to clean all the glass out of the inside of the door. I don't leave anything in view anymore. Everything goes in the console, the glove compartment, or the trunk. If they look in my car, they see nothing!

Feb 25, 2009 09:50 AM