A ‘scared’ motorist who noticed fake number plates on her car as she approached it to collect her sunglasses suspects thieves planned to steal it from outside her flat in Hale, Greater Manchester.
In March 2022, Charlotte Grundy saw the number plates were a peculiar colour on her Mercedes-Benz A-Class. They were also covered with a reflective film that was mostly transparent, yet slightly foggy. The film made it hard for police enforcement cameras to read the number plates. Additionally, the registration itself did not match the car so its genuine identity was concealed.
‘Everyone said it was prepped to be stolen’, Ms Grundy told the Manchester Evening News. She suspects the thieves planned to break into her flat, take the car’s key, then drive away but got disturbed and ran. ‘It is ‘scary’, she said. Ms Grundy added that she recently had another car stolen which was a ‘massive inconvenience’. This is supposed to be a ‘nice area’, she lamented.
Tips to stop your car being stolen
You can easily minimise the risk of your car being stolen. Note that thieves have numerous cars to choose from so they pick easy targets. There is no need to choose difficult targets. They want cars they can take quickly, quietly, and without being seen by cameras or people. The key is to make your car undesirable so the thieves go elsewhere. Ensure it is too risky, time consuming, and tedious to pick your vehicle. Make sure it is not worth the effort.
For a modest price you can purchase a steering wheel lock, for starters. Thieves are unlikely to target a car with a steering lock when there are dozens nearby without. You can also put stickers in the windows that say your car has a tracker, alarm, and engine immobiliser – irrespective of whether it actually does. Clearly, you can also genuinely install extra security features if required.
It is also easy to reduce the risk of thieves stealing the car’s key from your house, then taking the car itself. Hide your key rather than leave it somewhere obvious. Next to the front door is obvious. Also consider where you park. Criminals like to work in private so do not give them the opportunity. It is often safer to leave your car in a pleasant, busy, well lit car park that is monitored by security cameras than in a dark alley in a rough area.