It’s a fair bet that most people are fond of Christmas and other winter holidays. However there are people who look for holidays even more - we are going to talk about car criminals. Their goal is drivers, stressed out and tired of festivals.
They are more likely to pay attention to cars over 15 years old rather than to new ones stuffed with various security features.

The most common target for car criminals is the following people:

*    Shoppers leaving their car full of presents open to drop into a shop for a moment.

*    Drivers who drive off leaving some shoppings on the floor.

*    Drivers who are reading their Christmas list so thoroughly that they just forget to lock the car.

*    Those drivers who put all the presents on the car seats instead of putting them into the boot. Boots in such cars are usually full of different unnecessary things which usually remain untouched while the presents are stolen.

*    Some drivers who go shopping leaving the keys in the ignition.

*    Absentminded motorists who leave on the dashboard not only house keys but also papers providing the thieves with home address.

*    The drivers who put valuable things such as laptop, mobile phone and wallet into the boot but then forget to close over the cover thus leaving all these things on show.

Keep in mind that all these unpleasant things usually happen to attentive and well-organized drivers. Such people are often a bit distress on holidays as they have so many things to do that they just forget of such routines as locking the car. The best tip for them is put all valuable things in safe are in the vehicle and make sure that they are firmly locked. This should be done before hitting the road.

There are other car crimes which are especially popular in winter month. They are:

*    Frosting:
Earlier car thieves used to steal the vehicles from outside shops, schools, petrol stations etc. now their goal is the vehicles which the drivers have left with the engine running in order to defrost them. The owner goes into the house to bring deicer, a bucket of warm water or something else, while a thief steals all valuables and leaves before anybody has noticed. And don’t think that your car is safe if you can see another driver cleaning his vehicle further in the street. May be it is a sly thief but not your neighbor.

*    Sneaking:
Many people usually leave their ignition keys on a hook or on the table close to the door. This is also an easy goal for thieves. Many criminals think that it is much easier to break into the house and take the keys than to break into a car equipped with all those safety features. Often the thieves even don’t need to break in as many drivers leave the door open while defrosting or washing cars. This gives the criminals a good opportunity to robber not only your vehicle but also steal valuables from the house. 

Jim Atkins