Ex-Police Interceptor gives urgent security tip to | Tech News

A former Police Interceptor has urged drivers to keep away from doing one factor in a bid to decrease the risk of their car being stolen, notably if it was a current buy.

With March bringing the launch of a new quantity plate, the month is at all times a well-liked time for motorists to improve their set of wheels.

However, Ben Pearson, Police Advisor for Nextbase and former Police Interceptor, urged Brits to suppose twice earlier than posting a picture of their new vehicle on social media.

He suggested: “Social media can be a useful tool to let people know your car has been stolen, but before that point, keep your car off your profile. Far too many people post pictures of their car and registration on Facebook or Instagram with their profiles unlocked.

“Vehicles might be simply traced this fashion and it’s not laborious to discover the vehicle’s location when people tag areas on photos. Don’t make it straightforward for thieves to make your car a goal.”

Whilst almost all drivers love the feeling they get when taking to the roads in a new model, Nextbase recommended that they take care when bragging about it.

By putting the vehicle’s number plate online, drivers are effectively giving criminals their new vehicle’s information, potentially resulting in their vehicle being stolen or the plates being cloned to conceal the identity of a missing model.

As a result, drivers looking to post photos of their car to social media have been advised to leave the number plates out, taking images from the side or editing out the registration.

Similarly, Ben recommended that drivers do not miss traditional methods used to keep their car safe, suggesting that they are affordable but often some of the best available.

He added: “One of the best methods to make your car more durable to steal – and crucially, look more durable to steal – is a wheel lock. These might be purchased for round £50 and add an additional layer of safety ought to a thief get into your car by fashionable keyless theft, in addition to supplying you with more time to hear an alarm or discover their presence.

“A professional criminal can get through a wheel lock with an angle grinder, but that extra time and noise may put them off.”

Whilst spending £50 for a steering wheel lock could seem trivial as compared to the £40,000 that the average new car prices within the UK, the rising quantity of stolen autos within the UK is no small matter.

According to knowledge from Nextbase, who sourced knowledge from the Office for National Statistics, some 130,270 automobiles have been stolen in England and Wales alone during 2023.

Nevertheless, the dashcam producer famous that the rise in circumstances comes at a time through which charge charges for vehicle thefts has declined from 2.8 p.c of circumstances to simply 1.43 p.c within the 12 months main to June 2023.