Shopping centres are hotspots for shoppers, and for this reason, they are becoming hotspots for criminal activity.
Cellphone theft and car jamming are on the rise. here’s what’s happening and how to protect yourself and the ones you love.
Opportunistic criminals and chance takers are always on the prowl, warns ADT, and the best way to protect yourself is to always remain vigilant. Staying aware of what is going on around you no matter where you are is always a good decision. A decision that could keep you and your belongings safe from harm.
Here are some other ways to guard yourself and your belongings:
- Always plan out a safe route when leaving or entering a shopping centre and its surroundings. This means avoiding desolate areas and other spaces that make you a target.
- Don’t make yourself a target. Do not walk with your earphones in or your phone out in the open. Doing such things makes you a soft target and your belongings ripe for the picking of criminals.
- Stay in safe areas. Whether you’re waiting for a lift or for a centre to open its doors, ensure that you are in a well-lit, populated area.
- Try to avoid travelling alone. Although it cannot always be helped, travelling alone makes you a soft target once again; having a partner to travel with or a group to surround yourself with is a safer option.
- Always report incidents. Reporting crimes and suspicious behaviour alerts authorities to possible criminals and helps keep the shopping centre security alert for possible crimes of a similar nature in the future. This way, future crime is lessened, and future incidents are less likely to occur.
Car remote jamming has been on the rise in recent years, and this is especially prominent in vehicle-dense spaces such as shopping centre parking lots. Car jamming occurs when criminals use devices to prevent a car’s remote from locking the vehicle. Thus, car owners leave their cars unlocked, unbeknownst to them, and return later to a car stripped of all of their belongings.
Here are some tips to prevent car remote jamming from happening to you and those you know.
- Once you have locked your car or boot, always be sure to physically check that these doors are locked. A quick tug on your car’s door handle can be an effective way to check this.
- Remain vigilant when parking and locking your vehicle. Always be on the lookout for suspicious behaviour from loitering individuals.
- Choose your parking spot for your safety. Never park in isolation or desolate parking lots. Always aim for a parking lot with security and car guards on duty.
- Be discreet when leaving valuables in your car. Whether it’s a laptop in your boot or a backpack on your backseat, always be aware of who might be looking and who can see into your car through the windows.
- Consider tracking systems like GPS to be installed in your vehicle. This way, in the event of your car remote being jammed and your vehicle stolen, the chances of having your belongings returned to you are higher.
All in all, always remain vigilant and on the look out when shopping and parking in and around shopping centres.
Compiled by: Kate Wilson
First published on Cape Town etc
