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By Greg Bartlett

As GPS technology continues to advance, the use of GPS tracking systems becomes more and more commonplace. While this is definitely a good thing, people need to make sure that they are protecting themselves from GPS tracking abuse.

GPS & Caution

Law enforcement officers caution people from putting their home address into their GPS tracking device. This would have been a good warning for a particular family who had items from their vehicle stolen while attending a football game. The thieves took the garage door opener and the dashboard-mounted GPS system.

This system led the thieves right to the home that they knew was empty and the garage door opener gave them immediate access. The thieves were able to steal a television, computers, stereo, jewelry, and other expensive items from the home.

Instead of putting your actual home address into your GPS system, law enforcement officials suggest using an address near your home such as a grocery store, bank, fast food restaurant, or gas station. This will allow the GPS system to give you accurate directions without endangering your home if the GPS tracking system is ever stolen.

Unfortunately, GPS trackers aren’t the only technological items that thieves are abusing. Cell phones are also often targeted by thieves. In one case, a stolen purse contained everything that the thief needed to wipe out a bank account. The purse not only contained credit cards and a bank card, but it also contained the victim’s cell phone. The thief quickly sent a text message to “hubby” asking for the pin number of the bank account. Armed with this information, the thief wiped out the bank account before the woman could even call and notify her husband about what had happened.

Some additional cautions for protecting yourself against this kind of abuse: Use everyone’s real name in your contact list instead of labeling them according to their relationship to you. Also, never give out personal information through text message. Always call the person requesting the information to make sure that it is the rightful owner of the cell phone. You should also confirm any text message requests to meet somewhere by calling the person. This ensures that you do not place yourself in a bad situation if the phone had indeed been stolen.

Criminals know how to use today’s technology too. This makes it very important for people to protect themselves and their belongings by using a little extra care with their GPS tracking devices and cell phones.