a good reason not to keep dmv registration in car

[97guns]

I have a contractor here now and I just eavesdropped on their convo, they were shopping at a mall and their vehicle got broken into, thieves stole their DMV reg and went to their house and robbed it. They knew they would be tied up at the shopping mall for hours and made for a perfect opportunity to raid the house. I don't keep my reg in the vehicle, its always been on my person in my wallet

[snafu]

We went to a 'safety' seminar sponsored by police in our community who offered their best tips. One was to never keep registration and insurance slips in the glove box or various console storage. They recommended these documents be stored beneath the spare tire in an easily accessible pouch...if you knew where to slide your hand.

It's helpful in our situation since several people drive each of the vehicles.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Harmless person though I am, I cannot imagine saying to a police officer who asked for my registration, "Sure. Let me just open my trunk. It's right there under my tire iron."

[disneysteve]

I have a contractor here now and I just eavesdropped on their convo, they were shopping at a mall and their vehicle got broken into, thieves stole their DMV reg and went to their house and robbed it. They knew they would be tied up at the shopping mall for hours and made for a perfect opportunity to raid the house.

And what would make the crooks think the person lived alone? Maybe their spouse was home or their kids.

I think these stories are largely urban legends. Right up there with the folks who post on facebook that they're out of town and somebody sees that and robs their house. Those are even harder to believe since only my friends see my facebook posts.

[ua_guy]

My DH had his vehicle broken into for the same reason. His was one out of a whole row that got hit one night when he and his coworkers had gone out after work. Things that could be easily grabbed were left untouched. The only things taken were registration, insurance, and vehicle loan/lease paperwork.

DH lucked out because we've already thought about this. Our only loss was having to pay for a new piece of door glass.

Here's a couple of other tips:

Don't leave garage remotes in the car if they allow primary access into your home. If you do, make sure the entry door from the garage to the house is secure and locked, don't keep valuables in the garage, including spare keys.

Higher end cars and Volkswagens usually have a trunk release button that can be locked out, along with locking rear seat passthroughs. Use them. If you have to leave stuff in your car, being able to securely lock things in the trunk buys a lot of time.

If you don't keep reg/insurance docs on your person, you can hide them in the car. A minimally secure option is to tape them to the underside of the vanity mirror cover in the sun visor, if your vehicle has one. At least it's out of view of the typical smash/grab type thieves.

Don't keep spare house keys in the car. Especially if you park outside when at home.

We lock our cars, even when they're at home, in the garage.

Never leave financial information about the car in the car. Loan/lease/title paperwork, take it home, file it away securely. It doesn't need to be in the car.

[cologero]

In my state, they give you two registration forms. One with your address and one without your adress. Obviously, they tell you to only keep the one without the address in the car.

Not sure why other states don't do that.

[rennigade]

Here in WDC about once or twice a year you hear about this. Thieves breaking into cars when people were at the redskins game...then they would grab their garage door opener and registration so they knew what house to hit.

Like DS said...whos to say someone isnt at home? Did everyone in the family go to the game/mall? What if the car was borrowed by a relative who didnt live at the house?

It seems like a scare tactic imo. I was talking to my father yesterday and the shooting in CA was going on. He said you cant go anywhere anymore, the violence is out of hand. I looked out my window and the sun was shining, a kid was riding her bike, and birds were chirping. Guess violence isnt actually happening everywhere. (this is an old comedy bit, maybe bill hicks? but you get the point)

Dont live your life in fear. Better yet...just turn the news off. The doom and gloom they like to broadcast gets old and it represents such a tiny percentage of what goes on in the world.

[ua_guy]

In my state, they give you two registration forms. One with your address and one without your adress. Obviously, they tell you to only keep the one without the address in the car.

Not sure why other states don't do that.

I don't even know why it needs to be IN the car. Registration is all verified electronically nowadays.

Here in WDC about once or twice a year you hear about this. Thieves breaking into cars when people were at the redskins game...then they would grab their garage door opener and registration so they knew what house to hit.

Like DS said...whos to say someone isnt at home? Did everyone in the family go to the game/mall? What if the car was borrowed by a relative who didnt live at the house?

It seems like a scare tactic imo. I was talking to my father yesterday and the shooting in CA was going on. He said you cant go anywhere anymore, the violence is out of hand. I looked out my window and the sun was shining, a kid was riding her bike, and birds were chirping. Guess violence isn't actually happening everywhere. (this is an old comedy bit, maybe bill hicks? but you get the point)

Dont live your life in fear. Better yet...just turn the news off. The doom and gloom they like to broadcast gets old and it represents such a tiny percentage of what goes on in the world.

I don't think anyone is recommending that people should live their lives in fear. Just living in a heightened state of awareness, is all.

Maybe some of it's scare tactics, maybe not. But why give someone the opportunity to rob you?

Casing a home is ridiculously easy. It's happened to a lot of people and they don't even know it. Ever had a door-to-door salesman come around? Invited a contractor or cable guy into your house, or let them walk around the property? Had your windows cleaned, or maybe keep a house cleaning service or a yard service? Someone asking you to sign a petition? Had J-Wits try to sell you a religion?

Not saying all those guys are crooks, but if you want to know if people are home or a house is empty, walk up to the door and see. It's that easy.

[disneysteve]

if you want to know if people are home or a house is empty, walk up to the door and see. It's that easy.

Exactly, which is why it seems to make no sense (not that crime makes sense) for people to break into cars at the mall to steal registration cards to then go to that person's house to rob them. That's an awful lot of trouble and risk when all you need to do is ring the doorbell and see if anyone answers.

[ua_guy]

Exactly, which is why it seems to make no sense (not that crime makes sense) for people to break into cars at the mall to steal registration cards to then go to that person's house to rob them. That's an awful lot of trouble and risk when all you need to do is ring the doorbell and see if anyone answers.

It doesn't need to make sense..but it happens. I did a quick google search came up with recent examples. This one is from 2012, which is much older, but it's close to home...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/stolen-car-registrations-lead-thieves-empty-homes-owners/story?id=16108396

A couple of news articles don't "prove" that this kind of crime is epidemic, but it's just an other example of another way to commit opportunistic theft that actually happens. Something to be aware of.

I'd think the more common occurrence is people who leave their cars outside at home, and having their car broken into for the garage remote. Instant access. No articles to prove this one, but it did happen to our family when I was a kid living with my parents. Dad left the car unlocked one night...upscale suburban neighborhood...there was nothing valuable in the car but the garage remote was clipped to the visor. They opened the garage, stole a brand new Honda lawnmower, some tools, and made off with two expensive bicycles. All while we were sleeping.

[maynard]

I agree these stories don't sound believable. If I'm at the mall, thats no guarantee that my house is empty. The criminals would still have to snoop around the house and look in windows anyway to confirm no one is home.

Urban legend

[rennigade]

I have a friend who said bloody Mary 3 times in the mirror last night and woke up with scratches on his face. Scary stuff.

[ua_guy]

Rennigade and Maynard, you guys are funny. The FBI reports that 75% of all burglaries are residential. About 28% residential burglaries occur with people at home. Whether people are home, or not home, 33% of burglars come through the front door.

Above, I posted local examples of where vehicles were robbed at a movie theater, where the thief would take the vehicle's registration (including address) and garage remote, and they'd go rob the house if it was a local address.

Once again, awareness, not fear. Just because it doesn't happen to you or you haven't seen it happen, doesn't mean it won't or can't. The chance of this happening seems more likely than winning the lottery, but still pretty slim. Just something to think about.

[rennigade]

Rennigade and Maynard, you guys are funny. The FBI reports that 75% of all burglaries are residential. About 28% residential burglaries occur with people at home. Whether people are home, or not home, 33% of burglars come through the front door.

It shouldnt come as a surprise that most burglaries occur at residential properties. Most people tend to work during the day. You could pick almost any neighborhood, show up at 11am and knock on the door. A good percentage of those homes would not have someone in it.

Again...why waste your time breaking into a car where you could get busted vs simply going to homes throughout the day and trying your luck.

If I were a burglar I would hit up a neighborhood days/weeks before and stake out each house. See when people come and go...pretty straight forward.

Heck if I really wanted to simplify my life I would sign up for facebook...friend as many people as possible and wait until either my friends or one of their friends started bragging/posting pictures of them on vacation...then burglarize their home. I cringe when my wife tells me so and so just posted something about leaving for some tropical place or being on a plane to a tropical place. Just asking for trouble. Everyone..dont be one of these people...if you want to be a goober do it after you're back from vacation and post as many pictures as you want of how awesome you think your life is.

[Thrif-t]

Rennigade most criminals are dumb so would never think of the easy way to do things. http://www.truecrimereport.com/stupid_crime/