Your GPS. Friend or Foe?

This was a conversation that came up a while ago and I'm seeing it gaining momentum as time goes on.

The GPS in your car is a danger to you.

Yes it seems that people love to steal the GPS and the Garage Door Opener from cars. They use the GPS to find your house (since most people program in their home address and label it as home) and the Garage Door Opener to get in.

"Uh-Oh! This is a problem" most people think when they read this. And most places that report this problem give the solution of either selecting your home address as a local landmark that you can get home from, or by setting your home address and calling it something else in the address list.

In the first example you'd set either a serious local landmark like the local grocery store you shop at, or the post office or you'd select something amusing (again that you know how to get home from) like the local police station or a local gay bar.

But a number of people are not thinking this through. When I first heard about this and we talked about it, it very quickly occurred to us that it really does not work.

Now you see, while it amuses me to think about setting "home" as "Discount Dan's Used Dildo Emporium and Coffee Shop" and imagining the looks on the faces of the criminals as they pull into the parking lot, and I am a believer in not making it easy for criminals...But there is a problem. A pretty big one.

Trying to be cute for the crooks and trying to make it harder for them does not work. By law we are required to make it easy for them. Now I know what some are going to think. "What law exists that requires us to make it easy for crooks? I'm calling shenanigans on this! No law would ever be written to make it easy for crooks! What next? You're going to say that legally we must leave out front doors unlocked? You're stupid!"

Hell a few already said that to me.

But yes there is a law that makes it easy for a crook to bypass the Used Dildo/Coffee Shop and go straight to your house. Look in the glove box. By law, you are required to keep your registration with the vehicle. And unless you've recently moved, this contains your current address. And then there is your proof of insurance which in many cases ALSO has your current address.

Not so stupid now am I?

In reality, yes the GPS and the Garage Door Opener are stolen. But the GPS is not used. Normally they break into your car, steal the GPS and sell it for a quick buck at the pawn shop, then use the address off of the stolen registration along with the stolen Garage Door Opener to find and break into your house. Your GPS was likely not involved in the crime unless the criminal didn't already have one of his own.

And I can see how people may think that this is how they were found. The GPS is obvious since it is usually stored on the window. The Garage Door Opener is obvious since well you no longer have it and have to get the spare or have to park the car, go inside and open it from the switch inside.

But the registration? That's just one more slip of paper out of god knows how many littering your glove box. And even if you keep a clean glove box, it's still one scrummy piece of paper that you may not even give the slightest notice until you get pulled over for something and are asked for it and find out that it is not there anymore.

So I say pick your poison. Set your GPS for home or set it to the Dildo Shop. It's not going to make much of a difference either way. If you really want to be safe, do not leave your garage door opener in your car or at least keep it hidden from view and do the same for the GPS.