Email

GPS tracking technology built into the iPhone saves the day again, locating the Roxbury residence of its thief.

A man contacted Boston police and made them aware that security footage at his place of business captured the moment his iPhone 4 was stolen, amongst other things.  Using the GPS tracking technology standard on the iPhone, he was able to pinpoint the location of the phone inside a Roxbury apartment complex.

Upon arriving at the address police were led to, the victim was instructed to send a text message to the phone alerting the suspect of police presence outside of his apartment.  They waited, and were rewarded with the sweet sound of the phone alerting the thief of the incoming text.  The thief (in apparent disbelief) cracked open his door and upon seeing authorities promptly slammed the door in their faces.

Despite being told not to, the owner of the apartment allowed police to enter, who recovered everything that had been taken except for the phone.  As it turns out, the missing iPhone was thrown out the window as soon as authorities arrived at the home – the result of a panicked thief.

52 year-old Malcolm Williams was charged with larceny over $250 and malicious destruction, as well as a warrant that was outstanding for entering without breaking.

Article Written by Khristen Foss

0 comment(s)

Email

A thief on the run on Idaho was brought down by one small town resident after the use of GPS technology helped pinpoint the exact whereabouts of the stolen goods.

According to the Bonner County Daily Bee, a man in Sandpoint, Idaho had discovered his smartphone missing along with a snowboard and other items after waking up to a break-in of his sport utility vehicle.

When the man arrived at his car, the criminal and his contents were long gone but the quick thinking man remembered that his smartphone is equipped with a feature that uses GPS technology to signal whenit’s been lost or stolen.

Therefore he was able to track it down using his laptop computer. Sandpoint Police took the lead and followed the GPS location coordinates, which took them to the exact spot of the criminal and the stolen goods in question. Sandpoint Police pointed out the criminal and the stolen good were a mere five blocks from where the crime had taken place, but without the GPS technology there would have been no way of knowing otherwise.

The Daily Bee also reported that when the police arrived, they discovered stolen goods from a number of other unsolved crimes in the neighborhood, allowing them to close a number of cases that evening from the high end technology of the area man’s satellite enhanced device.

Article Written by Greg Minton

0 comment(s)

Email

A GPS system in Indiana helped police track, find, and arrest three robbery suspects. The victim gave police information about a cell phone that the robbers stole to track them.

All of the stolen items were returned to the victim, including the stolen cell phone and a wallet. (Some credit cards and cash, however, were retained for investigative purposes).

Using the signal from the phone, Indiana officers used GPS tracking technology to find the subject nearly 20 blocks away from the scene of the crime. The rapidity with which they were able to catch them could not have occurred without this GPS technology.

All cell phones manufactured within the last decade transmit a GPS signal to wireless providers. This signal allows wireless providers to know where you are located so that they can connect your phone to the proper satellite. However, in the event of a crime, police and other governmental agencies can use this GPS data from cell phones to track criminals.

This is precisely what the Indiana police did. Using this GPS information from the cell phone provider (Verizon), they tracked down the thieves within a single block. However, they need a legal justification in the form of a warrant in order to do so.

Article Written by Greg Minton

0 comment(s)

Email

By James Neely

In philosophical and theological circles there is a debate concerning the makeup of the human heart and its intentions. Is it inherently good or evil? What drives human behavior to do the things that it does?

Theft is up when the economy is down!

An incredible leap in logic? Maybe, but the facts do not lie. Look at the myriad of news stories that bombard us daily about the actions that bespeak of the intentions of those who are bent on taking what is not theirs to use for their own pleasure.

The bottom line. GPS tracking devices provide ways to keep track of personal property with incredible detail and precision so that in the event of a theft, an item can be tracked to within a few feet of its actual location.

Protect what is yours. You do not have to be in business in order to take advantage of GPS tracking devices in protecting what is yours. In fact, the good thing about these devices is that they are small enough and yet accurate in their details Whether you are attempting to protect a car, boat, or other motorized vehicle, the GPS Tracker is what you need to accomplish that task.

Monitor compliance. Want to make sure everything is being done to perfection with regard to contractual obligations? Then a GPS Tracking system is no longer an option. For businesses that depend upon verification for performance, a system will deliver that and more.

Verify Actions. Was the deliver made when it was supposed to have been made? Can you verify this beyond the shadow of a doubt? Little things become big things so, it is important to adopt this philosophy.

Create business success. This might seem like an odd point to make at the end of this discussion, but it works because if one is able to get a handle on the above in the application to business, then there is a higher opportunity of success based on the fact that one of the obstacles to making money can often be the employees of a given business. Now you can use technology at your disposal to help insure that profitability remains strong because you have ways to protect your business. A GPS tracker gives you that control.

1 comment(s)

Email

By Greg Bartlett

With the coming of summer, people will soon be out in droves to enjoy the sun and participate in outdoor sports and recreation. Many will plan long afternoons and evenings out on the lake or in the harbor in recreational watercrafts.

While a large percentage of the population thinks about the possibility of auto theft and takes precautions to prevent it, relatively few people ever consider the possibility of their boats being stolen. A casual stroll through your local marina may reveal unattended boats with no locks, keys left in the ignition, or even boats left idling while the owner has run into the clubhouse for a moment. While these are common sense no-no’s, they do serve as a reminder that we all can be more alert to the possibility of theft. One step that boat owners should consider taking is purchasing a GPS tracker to help prevent theft and to aid in recovery if a boat is stolen.

GPS trackers use satellite technology to send signals from a transmitter to your computer. The transmitter is small enough to be easily concealable, so thieves won’t even know they’re being watched. You can monitor the boat’s location in real time, checking in at any moment to validate the whereabouts of your vehicle or you can view daily reports detailing the boat’s activity including location, stops and mileage.

Insurance companies estimate that as many as 27,000 watercraft vehicles are stolen each year and the odds are ten to one that any given boat will be recovered. Even if you keep your boat at your home instead of in a marina, it is still not safe from theft—over half of stolen boats are not in the water when they are stolen. The thief simply hooks your trailer up to his truck and is in the next county before you realize what happened. Installing a GPS tracker can greatly improve the odds of recovering your stolen boat, however, and it may also reduce your insurance premiums.

Theft is a particularly painful crime, since people tend to feel that a part of their identity has been compromised. A GPS tracker can put you in control of your assets and give you the upper hand over any criminal. At the end of boating season, when you’re ready to put away the keys till next year, you’ll be at ease knowing that you’ve done everything you can to protect what is yours.

0 comment(s)

Email

By James Neely

Lance Armstrong

Whether it is a baseball, football, auto racing or other outdoor sports organizations, keeping track of your assets is mandatory for making sure that you do not incur a loss. This can be done with the addition of a GPS Tracking system added to your equipment.

For baseball and football operations, you can track the equipment that is used in maintaining your fields. Auto racing is held on far larger venues and makes the use of one of these systems even more important. Golf courses can keep track of any and all equipment such as course maintenance equipment and even golf carts, too.

Especially appropriate are sports operations that move large amounts of equipment from venue to venue.

Recover by Tracking. Once properly installed, your assets are instantly traceable should they ever become stolen. Location information can be passed to police agencies within minutes from which they can affect recovery. Preventing the process from taking longer helps you be able to keep your operations running smoothly. Since perpetrators of these crimes do not hold on to the property for long, a GPS Tracking system helps insure that you get your items back as soon as possible.

Technology that is always on. One of the best reasons to choose one of these systems is that should a unit become disconnected from a battery, a signal is still emitted which will help in recovery efforts. Also aiding in the effort for recovery is that a well-hidden unit will help in the capture of the thieves because they will not find it as readily.

Cost effective and mandatory? Before long, it might be a requirement by insurance companies to add these units in order to help minimize their risk. But voluntary installation and use should produce lower premiums as well.

Major and minor sports operations can protect their equipment during the season and off-season and be assured that their equipment is always where they placed it. It is an added way to help keep their expenses low and profits high.

You, too, should consider adding a GPS tracking unit to you business. It is very affordable and will bring you added security and peace of mind.

0 comment(s)

Email

By Greg Bartlett

What item is valuable and easy to pilfer that would leave most college students and business people devastated? The answer is simple: their laptop.

College students depend on their laptops for everything. They keep in contact with others through social networking sites and email. They use the internet for research, and spend many hours writing papers and working on their projects. If their laptops were stolen, most college students would lose the entire semester’s worth of work and have to start over on all their projects. So why would they leave their most important possession unguarded?

Laptop theft can also be a problem in the workplace. Whether the laptops were handed out by the companies themselves or they belong to the workers, much would be lost if they went missing. It’s very simple to walk past an empty desk, quickly unplug a laptop, and walk off with it. So what can prevent this kind of thing from happening? How can you get your laptop back if it is stolen?

Laptop tracking can be fairly simple using a GPS tracker. If someone were to steal your laptop, you would be able to pinpoint the exact location of the laptop as soon as you discovered that it was missing. Just the knowledge that the company’s laptops were equipped with a GPS tracker would deter theft, because the would-be thief would understand just how easily he or she could be caught.

In college dorms, people come and go so much that it would be easy for someone to learn the schedules and routine habits of those around him. All a thief needs to know is that you always go to the Friday night basketball game and that your roommate likes to spend nights studying in the library. All of a sudden, your laptop is missing and you have thousands of suspects. But you remember the GPS tracker that you bought and you instantly locate and reclaim your laptop.

Tracking down something that is stolen has always been a very difficult thing to do, but with a GPS tracker it is very simple to find what has been lost. Protect your laptop and all the valuable information that you have stored on it by taking advantage of current technology that makes your belongings secure.

0 comment(s)

Email

By James Neely

GPS Tracking systems have a wide variety of uses and applications. One that is worth spending some time on is the category of motorcycles. These modes of transportation are not immune from theft and malicious use. In fact, as the economy tightens, there are opportunists who look upon motorcycles as an easier target for theft than are cars and trucks. For this reason, you should consider a GPS tracking system for your motorcycle or other outdoor motorized item.

First, some facts are in order to substantiate the need for these systems. The top five makes of stolen motorcycles are Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Harley-Davidson. The states with the most motorcycle theft activity are California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Indiana.

The national recovery rate for stolen vehicles has fallen below 60 percent for the first time in ten years. This means a greater chance that you will not get your motorcycle back.

With the cost of these motorcycles at or above $20,000, it is incumbent upon owners to take precautionary measures to help prevent becoming a victim of theft. That is where GPS Tracking systems fit into the landscape.

With GPS offerings you will find these two options:

Real-time Tracking. This type of tracking is the most comprehensive and detailed that you will find. You can track from a PC the speed, distance, location and direction of travel. For a family member who has an interest in your travels, this can be the best option. Think of the measure of safety that this option affords as well.

Demand-only Tracking. If you do not need the level of detail provided above, then consider the demand-only option as a way to track the location of your motorcycle only as need requires. In the unfortunate event of a theft, location information can be supplied to the authorities who can follow up for recovery purposes.

Insurance savings. Insurance companies appreciate the extra attention to lowering their risk with these systems so often you will find a reduction in your premiums as an added benefit.

Motorcycle club benefits. If you are part of a motorcycle club which travels together, then a GPS Tracking system is perfect for the lead bike. This will allow you to track your progress by a team member from a home location. It is a great way to update a web page which might be following your trek.

Peace of mind. The last thing you want to be concerned about is theft of your motorcycle. That is especially true if you are travelling in unfamiliar country. A GPS Tracking system provides you with a little peace of mind because you have other more important things on your mind, like safety and enjoyment of your trip. Get one today, you will be glad you did.

0 comment(s)

Email

By Greg Bartlett

So, you can’t afford the car you want, and you figure the best way around your lack of financing is to steal the car. That’s not really the wisest choice, but if you insist upon stealing a car, take a word of advice. Don’t steal one with a GPS car tracking system unless you have an urge to spend some time in prison.

A GPS tracker can give the police, the car company, and the owner the precise location of the car at any time, whether because the owner wants to know where his teenage daughter is, the lender needs to repossess the car when the owner stops making payments, or the police need to impound the vehicle because the owner drove it while under the influence or under a suspended license. Or there could be a host of other reasons for tracking the car, including finding out where you took it when you stole it.

Car thieves in Florida recently learned this the hard way. After stealing cash and a TV, they appropriated a BMW convertible. Unfortunately for them, the car had a GPS tracking system installed. So when the owner realized the car had been stolen, BMW determined the location of the car and notified police, who promptly engaged in a chase which eventually ended in the capture of the car thieves.

Most people who steal cars attempt to avoid police and don’t want to authorities where they are. It usually helps them to maintain their freedom and ability to make choices about where they’ll live, what they’ll eat, and what they’ll wear, which they won’t have if they’re captured and sent to prison for auto theft. But apparently these car thieves really didn’t care. Perhaps they just stole the car so they could participate in a police chase before being sent to prison.

Police also use GPS car tracking in bait cars, where they wait until someone – like you – steals the vehicle before flipping the “kill switch.” The car’s engine then shuts down, the doors lock and won’t open (keeping you inside), and the horn honks loudly until police officers show up. Another excellent vehicle to steal if you’re looking for a quick trip to prison.

So consider before you steal a car. You may want to look for one without a GPS tracker. It will probably save you from heading straight to prison.

0 comment(s)

Email

By Greg Bartlett

Insurance companies issue policies that reimburse the insured for lost or stolen items. Everyone knows that as a fact. If the insured has full coverage on their vehicle, the coverage includes fire and theft. In a time that every dollar in the family budget counts, how can the insurance premium be reduced? The answer is to install a GPS tracking device in the vehicle. This device will result in lowered insurance premiums.

Insurance companies determine the rates that they charge by the type of vehicle and the location of the vehicle. Some areas have a higher incidence of auto theft than others. Additionally some makes and models of vehicles are more “attractive” to auto theft. The insurance company will provide a lower insurance premium to the customer if they have some assurance that the vehicle will be recovered should it be stolen.

Surprisingly, newer vehicles do not appear on most of the “most stolen lists.” In 2005, only one vehicle made after 2000 made the national top ten lists. The other nine were all made 8 or more years prior to 2005. Owning an “older” vehicle is no guarantee that the vehicle will not be stolen.

Where do these older vehicles go? There are generally three options that a car thief has when stealing an older vehicle. The vehicle is either simply taken for a joy ride or dumped into a lake, river or a deserted area after the joy ride. The vehicle may wind up in a chop shop to be dismantled for the component parts. In many cases the parts that go into the vehicle are far more valuable than the vehicle itself. In the last case, the vehicle can be driven over the border to Canada or Mexico. Another possibility is the vehicle is driven to a coastal port city, loaded into a container and shipped overseas. In any of these three cases, the vehicle is sold overseas at a cost that is far lower than a legitimate vehicle can be acquired for.

A GPS tracking device, once installed on the vehicle can provide authorities the exact location of the vehicle. Once the owner realizes that the vehicle has been stolen, the location of the vehicle can be determined and the proper local authorities can be notified for recovery and subsequent prosecution of the thieves.

This in itself becomes a win – win situation for both the owner of the vehicle and the insurance company. The owner of the vehicle recovers the car and the insurance company does not have to pay a claim for the theft of the vehicle. Due to the fact that the GPS tracking system was installed on the vehicle, a lower insurance premium could be provided to the owner. This lower insurance premium reflects the lower risk should the vehicle be stolen. GPS tracking can definitely save money on insurance premiums.

0 comment(s)