I belong to a neighborhood social media group. Recently, there has been post after post about vehicle and mail-box break-ins in our neighborhood. While avoiding all thefts is not possible, make it more difficult for thieves and maybe they will look for an easier target.
- Keep your house and vehicle locked at all times.
- Don’t leave anything – especially electronics and wallets or purses – in sight in your vehicles, remove documents with personal information – vehicle title/registration, loan paperwork, birth certificate, drivers license, passport, bills – from the vehicle.
- Do not leave garage door openers or house keys, checks, checkbooks, or credit cards in your vehicle.
- Keep your vehicle insurance in your wallet or purse.
- A ring of identity thieves who broke into vehicles expressly to steal ID was busted in Dallas in April, story here:
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/mesquite/2017/04/27/mesquite-thieves-unlocked-cars-became-keys-identity-theft - Especially don’t put expensive electronics in your trunk for long periods of time when parked in your driveway. You never know who’s watching you.
Also, your car insurance may not cover your losses if your auto was stolen or vandalized when it was unlocked.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has a brochure you can download about how to protect yourself somewhat from auto theft at https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Police/BRO_Atpa_120_WhereUR_EnglishFinal.pdf
Furthermore, try to collect your mail every afternoon or send your important mail to a post office or UPS box. You can also sign up for Informed Delivery by USPS at https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action – this email allows you to know if something is missing from your mailbox.
Intentional Privacy 