The jamming of car remote controls by thieves is on the rise, leading to more and more car owners falling victim to such criminals at shopping malls or petrol stations.
Chilling evidence of this kind of crime is contained in a video that has gone viral.
It shows a woman stopping at a Caltex petrol station. She gets out of her car, using her remote-control key to lock the vehicle. She does not check that it is locked, and goes inside the store.
Next, a couple of men pull up in red Ford Figo next to the woman’s silver Ford Fiesta. One of them gets out, casually walks around her car, opened the boot and stole a bag. He got back into the Figo, and the men calmly drive off.
Chris Evans, head of the Lyttelton Sector 7 community policng forum (CPF), said the frequency of jamming at different locations varied.
“In the past we have had incidents at the Jean Village shopping centre, as well as the Centurion Lifestyle shopping centre, but these centres have done well to contain the number of incidents.”
A sharp increase in the number of thefts in parking lots had also been noted.
A woman’s car was recently burgled just as she entered a parking lot. The thief stood close to her car, and as she opened the driver’s side door, he opened the left-rear door, leaving the car unable to lock. The woman had not noticed, and the man stole items from her car after she had left.
An investigator from the intelligence bureau SA warned people against the rise in these crimes, and urged them to be vigilant. “Please ensure that all of your doors are locked when you leave your car, and if you see anything suspicious, report it to the authorities,” he said.
A video of the burglary at the Caltex petrol station can be seen below.
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