GPS Tracking

By JAMES NEELY / guest writer

-        James is a freelance writer for Rocky Mountain Tracking based in Fort Collins Colorado, a provider of GPS tracking products, software and accessories. For information about Rocky Mountain Tracking, Inc. visit www.RMTracking.com.

Some of us have seen video footage on reality TV shows that shows an ATM machine being pulled from a store so that the perpetrators can take it down the road, bust it open and steal the cash inside.  It does not happen a lot in the U.S. but is apparently a big enough problem in Europe that GPS Tracking devices are now being added to the units.

In Greece, ATMs are being outfitted with these devices to help alert police to the location of the units if they are stolen.

The hope is that adding these devices will help to both avert attempts but more importantly, track the stolen terminals.

Location

The GPS Tracking devices will track the location of the ATMs at all times and provide instantaneous location should the unit become stolen.  Plus, with on-board batteries

Sensors

The ATMs will be outfitted with sensors that will detect movement or temperature changes.  Once these have been activated, the GPS device will then send out multiple alarms to a preset list of recipients.

Incidents of ATM theft have increased to 32% in Greece and this has precipitated this use of technology.  These GPS Tracking devices can be retrofitted to any ATM, so there is no need for a financial institution to invest in all new machines just to take advantage of this much needed system.

The fact is that more of these will be deployed in the coming months around the world as economic conditions have created desperate actions on the part of citizenry in obtaining money to buy food for their families.

While that reasoning is understandable, it does not justify stealing.  Many more businesses will be adding additional methods to help prevent crime and recover from it, too.  GPS Tracking devices stand to play a major role as noted here and will continue to be used even in good times.

_{»crosslinked«}

In order to protect one’s assets and rein in insurance costs, it is often necessary to outsmart a would-be thief. This could not be more true in the case of armored cars, known by some as the “cash transport industry,” one of the most vulnerable privately-run businesses imaginable, with a huge potential for loss.
Armed guards and an impenetrable bulletproof outer shell on the vehicle were the earliest attempts at safety for the armored car.  This has been true for about a century. But to be sure, they are not the only precautionary measures.

What security steps are taken in armored cars today, to protect their precious cargo? You might be surprised at the innovative ways we are securing our “money in transit.” GPS tracking devices are part of the arsenal.

Paul Jaworski, a Polish-American immigrant, masterminded the first successful armored  car robbery in 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jaworski’s gang buried an explosive in a dirt road and detonated it under the vehicle. They made off with about $100,000.

Jaworski would not be so lucky today, given the state of technology. It’s very difficult to pull off an armored car robbery. The FBI says only about 40 robberies from armored cars occur each year. Comparatively, there are about 7,000 robberies a year of financial institutions. (more…)