GPS tracking technology is a welcome benefit for most car rental companies. Not only does it give company managers the ability to track, in real time, each car in their large fleets (and keep in mind some of these vehicles are moving clear across the country!) But GPS tracking also offers security that these assets can be traced and recovered if they get stolen.
Those in the illegal business of car thievery have been forced to operate with more caution and innovation since GPS tracking devices have found their way into the lives and cars of everyday people.
A rather disturbing trend has been making the rounds of YouTube and social networking sites. Thieves have been taking the same GPS tracking technology and using it to their own advantage. They rent a car, secretly install a small real-time GPS tracking device that costs as little as $300, have a duplicate key made, return the car, then monitor it until it is at a time and place convenient to be hijacked.
Video Shows Gangsters Stealing From Car
Sometimes the belongings inside a car are stolen rather than the car itself. This allows the thieves to return again and again to the same source, for goods that can be sold on the street. A video on YouTube shows how easy this deception can be. Two men approach a car in a hotel parking lot, pop open the trunk and make off with a laptop in a matter of seconds.
There are some who believe this particular video was faked and that the story is an urban myth. But certainly the crime itself is probable and of serious concern to any traveler or owner of a car rental agency. Imagine the convenience GPS tracking would afford a would-be thief. He could follow his target, in real time, on a computer, without being detected. He could wait for days if necessary, until the vehicle is parked in a prime place, where the thief would not draw attention to himself; for instance, an airport, train station, a stadium or a water park. (more…)
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