NEWS

The use of signal jammers is not that common, but here's a question "why are so many vehicles "pinched and parked"? Probably because these devices are not foolproof and thieves don't want to trust their liberty to some piece of electronics they hope is working.

Vehicle theft can often be categorised. Modern cars are often stolen by well organised gangs. The best of them can "hack" the electronoics and steal a car in seconds, getting it to a container dockside within a few hours.

Other less organised gangs will steal the vehicle and park it somewhere, a quiet street, hidden in plain sight.

In both cases the SecureAutoTrack still has its use, but speed is of the essence. If the vehicle is stolen to be shipped; at the point of theft the silent alarm will alert the owner of the attack. If the thieves are organised to the level of having hacking devices and shipping containers waiting, there is a high possibility they are using jammers. But a jammer won't jam the SMS Text alert to the owner of the theft, just the GPS satellite signal. Which means the theft can be reported early, which can increase the chances of it being intercepted.

If the vehicle does reach dockside, to export the battery is disconnected from the vehicle before going into the container. At that point the jammer, which will be plugged into the cigarette lighter socket, will allow the tracker to pick up a GPS signal and identify its location. This information is helpful because it highlights the workings of the gangs involved, it also means the insurance companies can settle more quickly as it becomes obvious what has happened to the vehicle.

Older vehicles or classics, which can in some cases be more valuable than modern cars, are often stolen for their parts, or to clone with a new identity of another vehicle. In this event the vehicle is often hotwired or towed then "pinched and parked", again the SecureAutoTrack silent alarm notifies an alert as soon as the theft starts to occur, but when they park the vehicle up to leave it to "cool off", the owner and authorities can retrieve it within hours of theft.

Using mechanical locks, such as steering wheel security bars, secret switches, pedal locks even road wheel clamps, slow thieves down, meaning that it takes longer for them to steal the vehicle, giving the owner more time to respond to the silent alarm.

Motorcycles are a special case. Motorcycles are not often hotwire or hacked. They are either picked up and put in a van, or the steering lock is broken and, with an accomplice on a moped, pushed away. Jammers are seldom used. So motor bikes are very often pinched and parked or stripped almost immediately. Because of their vulnerability, a SecureAutoTrack unit is most useful as a silent alarm, this combined with disk locks, chains, grip locks again slows the thieves down so that the owner has more time to initiate a defence. If the bike is successfully removed, the tracker will lead the owner or authorities to the location.

THE BOTTOM LINE, it is true, Trackers can be compromised, for those with the right tools. Like everything immobilisers and alarms can be compromised with "hacking" and towing away, chains and locks can be compromised with portable grinders and bolt croppers. Knowing this, does it mean we don't use any of these devices just in case the wood-be thief is "fully tooled up"? - of course not, we use these devises to make it more difficult for them to get away with our property.

The Silent Alarm is the secondary defence; the Tracker is the final defence. The first defence are the mechanical devices you use to slow or deter thieves in the first place.