What Residents Can Do To Keep Their Vehicles From Being Stolen
“We live in a time when if you make it easy for someone to steal from you, someone will.” — Frank Abagnale
by Luke Schmaltz
Denver car owners’ vehicles are driving away without them at an alarming rate.
suburbs coupled with the ideals of convenience and self-reliance stamped into most American DNA means that just about everyone with a driver’s license also has access to a car. Of the many thousands of vehicles in use across the Front Range, a rising percentage will be targeted, broken into and driven away with haste.
A Banner Year
2020 has been a boon for car thieves, with numbers climbing like a curve on a Covid-19 cases chart. According to a September 21 report published by The Denver Post, 5149 vehicles have been stolen in Denver thus far — an average of around 530 per month or about 20 per day.
These numbers are apparently being driven up by idle hands, as some folks who are out of work turn to crime while others turn to a stationary life — leaving their vehicles parked in the same location for many days or weeks at a time. According to the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA) Metro Auto Theft Team (CMATT) these vehicles are primarily larger trucks and SUVs — specifically the Ford F-series trucks (F-150, F-250 and F-350), Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras.
The reason these models are targeted is that they typically contain valuable tools for construction and other in-demand trades. Thieves then turn around and quick sell the tools and disassemble the car via chop shops for used parts. Or they will simply abandon the vehicle in a sparsely populated stretch of road somewhere on the outskirts of town. This dynamic explains why nearly 85% of stolen vehicles are recovered and of course, devoid of any of the owners’ personal items.
Beware Distractions
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), many car thefts take place during major distractions. The primary of these, obviously, is when vehicle owners are asleep in the middle of the night. Surprisingly, however, major holidays such as Halloween and New Year’s Day are also popular times. 2020 is unique in that social unrest in the form of protests and riots tend to attract large gatherings of police officers, leaving a vacuum of sorts in outlying areas. While the majority of officers in District 3 and 6 are downtown skirmishing with protesters and arresting bystanders, professional car thieves are fanning out through the neighborhoods — helping themselves while terrified residents remain glued to their television sets to watch the chaos unfurl.
The Basics
It goes without saying that you should lock your car and take the keys to the vehicle with you when you get out. Yet, a large percentage of cars being stolen are done so with ease because the FOB (frequency operated button) “key” was left inside the car, in plain sight, no less. Parking in a garage if you are so lucky is a great idea and if not, in a well-lit area with the windows rolled all the way up can also be a deterrent.
Ramp It Up
Theft deterrent devices like steering wheel locks, steering column collars and car alarms (with warning decals on the windows) can make an enterprising criminal decide to move along to the next car. You can also thwart criminals with a device locked onto one of the four wheels, otherwise known as a wheel lock. After all, the Mile High City is the originator of “the boot” so why not show a bit of Denver pride?
Protect The Transmitter
If you drive a car that unlocks with a FOB, hacker-savvy thieves can access your car even if you take the “key” with you. They do this by “jamming” your FOB’s radio frequency remotely. You can prevent this by taking a few pointers from the tin foil hat crowd and, yes, wrapping your FOB in tin foil overnight or while you are at work. This approach also works by dropping them in a cocktail shaker and slapping the lid on tight. Or, if those methods are a bit too pedestrian you can go out and buy radio frequency identification (RFID) blocker wallets and purses. Perhaps those conspiracy theorists are not so crazy after all.
Get Technical
Gearheads are privy to a number of hands-on mechanical methods that will keep a car from starting should a thief gain access. You can disconnect one of the battery cables from one of the battery posts which will cut off all power, rendering the car immobile. A similar approach can be applied by switching one of the spark plug wires with the coil wire, which will cause the car to make lots of loud backfiring noises while never actually starting. You can also install a fuel line cutoff valve, a battery disconnect switch or a “dizzy switch” which turns off the electrical signal from the distributor to the coil.
Go Big
In addition to the models mentioned above, the NICB reports that the most frequently stolen cars also include the Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla and Jeep Grand Cherokee. If you are in a position to upgrade, you can trade in your current vehicle for a vehicle that has proven to be virtually theft proof. According to a recent article by Forbes, the Subaru Outback, Legacy and Forester are safe bets along with GMC Acadia, Volkswagen Beetle, Buick Encore, Chevy Equinox, BMW 3-Series and just about anything made by Tesla.
Your other option for avoiding having your car stolen is to simply continue as usual without a plan and hope the bad guys don’t randomly choose you. Otherwise, you can sleep in your vehicle with a charged phone and a taser or you can give up driving, go green and get a bike. If you choose the latter, however, be sure to invest in a really, really good lock.