Be vigilant with your possessions

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Reboot said:

It would stand out. Thieves like things easy.

I am not entirely sure of your point but I can add that the police informed me that automobiles are not a target in the Dumaguete area.  I was told that some stolen vehicles turn up here, but they are stolen in larger cities like Cebu or Manila and they make their way here.

Cars are pretty easy to steal and one Wigo or Eon looks just like another so I suspect the crime in Dumaguete is crime of opportunity and habit rather than thieves liking what's easy to steal, but that's just an opinion.

[sonjack2847]

3 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I am not entirely sure of your point but I can add that the police informed me that automobiles are not a target in the Dumaguete area.  I was told that some stolen vehicles turn up here, but they are stolen in larger cities like Cebu or Manila and they make their way here.

Cars are pretty easy to steal and one Wigo or Eon looks just like another so I suspect the crime in Dumaguete is crime of opportunity and habit rather than thieves liking what's easy to steal, but that's just an opinion.

I was once told that when you put locks on things, bikes doors etc it is to stop the opportunists not the career criminals.All you can do is be careful with your stuff.

[robert k]

6 hours ago, Reboot said:

It would stand out. Thieves like things easy.

Standing out would probably go hand in hand with more expensive...and that outstanding bike would look just as good on another island, or opposite end of the one you're on.

[mogo51]

21 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I am not entirely sure of your point but I can add that the police informed me that automobiles are not a target in the Dumaguete area.  I was told that some stolen vehicles turn up here, but they are stolen in larger cities like Cebu or Manila and they make their way here.

Cars are pretty easy to steal and one Wigo or Eon looks just like another so I suspect the crime in Dumaguete is crime of opportunity and habit rather than thieves liking what's easy to steal, but that's just an opinion.

Agree Dave.

[Snowy79]

On 5/19/2017 at 7:36 AM, mogo51 said:

Agree Dave.

 

On 5/18/2017 at 10:08 AM, Dave Hounddriver said:

I am not entirely sure of your point but I can add that the police informed me that automobiles are not a target in the Dumaguete area.  I was told that some stolen vehicles turn up here, but they are stolen in larger cities like Cebu or Manila and they make their way here.

Cars are pretty easy to steal and one Wigo or Eon looks just like another so I suspect the crime in Dumaguete is crime of opportunity and habit rather than thieves liking what's easy to steal, but that's just an opinion.

 

On 5/18/2017 at 10:08 AM, Dave Hounddriver said:

I am not entirely sure of your point but I can add that the police informed me that automobiles are not a target in the Dumaguete area.  I was told that some stolen vehicles turn up here, but they are stolen in larger cities like Cebu or Manila and they make their way here.

Cars are pretty easy to steal and one Wigo or Eon looks just like another so I suspect the crime in Dumaguete is crime of opportunity and habit rather than thieves liking what's easy to steal, but that's just an opinion.

The only way to steel a modern car is with a working key or a recovery vehicle. All modern cars come with a transponder fitted into the head of the vehicle key which is detected once the key is inserted into the ignition and the ignition switched on.

The transponder contains a crypto code that is decoded by the engine ECU's. If the code doesn't match that stored in the vehicle the vehicle will either run for 2 seconds or not at all. Some of the older vehicles you can use virgin chips and grab the code from the vehicle to load onto the virgin chip but you'll still need a mechanical key cut to the code of the vehicle as most ignitions are clutched. If you use the wrong key or a screwdriver the ignition barrel will just spin 360 degrees.

This has led to a lot more burglaries to steel car keys and even car jackings at gas stations, traffic lights etc.

[robert k]

Or you can go to the dealer with the VIN# and they will make you a key. I've done it. I had insurance and registration with me but they didn't even ask.

[Dave Hounddriver]

51 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

The only way to steel a modern car is with a working key or a recovery vehicle.

That sounds very good but it does not explain:

On 5/18/2017 at 10:08 AM, Dave Hounddriver said:

 I was told, (by the Dumaguete police), that some stolen vehicles turn up here, but they are stolen in larger cities like Cebu or Manila and they make their way here.

So either the thieves are not stealing modern cars or they know more about what they are doing than we think.  Additionally, there are a lot of 20 year old vehicles around Philippines that are still worth more than a new motorcycle.  These are not being stolen in Dumaguete (according to the verbal advice given to me by Dumaguete police).  Lets hope it stays that way for as long as possible.

[Gary D]

We lost the keys to the van we hire last October  in hundred islands and just got the local locksmith to file a new one by hand. Just kept filing until it fit then we drove away. Just delayed us by a couple of hours.

[mogo51]

11 hours ago, robert k said:

Or you can go to the dealer with the VIN# and they will make you a key. I've done it. I had insurance and registration with me but they didn't even ask.

And therein Robert is the breakdown!  Hurdles were only ever made to be jumped over.

[Snowy79]

There are various security processes involved in cars today. Transponders have been common on European cars since 1996 and are becoming very common in Asian cars also. There's still a lot of the older Asian cars going around without transponders and I agree these are very easy to steal.

My last career before arriving in the Philippines was as a vehicle security technician and auto locksmith. With the improvements in vehicle security a lot of manufacturers are even moving away from the traditional key in ignition and supplying proximity  keys. You just approach the vehicle and it detects the key in your pocket and allows the car to drive. The more modern ones can even be unlocked remotely and allowed to drive to a dealer or to your home where you have a spare key. The likes of BMW and Mercedes it used to be standard practice if you lost your key just go to the dealer with your ID and registration documents and they'd supply a key that was pre-programmed to start the car. In the West this is now only possible if the car hasn't been into a dealer for a servicing as the dealers now use software to switch off the slots in the ECU for new keys. You need the dealer to supply the new key and then switch the slots on before they'll work. 

Some vehicles if you lose your only working key can be very expensive to get a replacement. Most of the modern Toyotas to program a key you need one working key to switch the ignition on and awaken the Engine Control Unit (ECU). The replacement keys only come half programmed. You connect the key programming computer to the On Board Diagnostic socket and if the ECU is awakened you use the computer to pull the security information from the vehicle and it adds it to the new key which you'd leave in the ignition. Some vehicles also come with very loud alarms which must be switched off with a programmed remote or again the key programming tool can't communicate to the ECU.  

A basic car I could probably pick and decode the lock then produce a key within 5 minutes. It's then just a case of programming a new transponder unless it's a Toyota. Most of these now without a working key you have to remove the whole dash then locate the immobiliser bow and either replace it with a virgin box or carry out EEPROM work to write the new transponder into the immobiliser. Rough cost for this service in the UK is anything from £1,200 upwards.

Ford and most of the VAG group (Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi) are now going onto on-line programming. You order a dealer key then connect the car via the internet to the dealer server. It reads the Vin from the vehicle and checks that a key has been ordered for that vehicle. It then scans the whole car checking mileage etc and wipes every key from the vehicle before re-loading any keys you have in your presence. This way any lost keys or unavailable keys will be useless just in case a thief has your key and decides to come back later and steel it.

An additional thing to be wary of is also the ability to clone keys. I've known of people leave their cars at a valet service and the valet people copy the key then give the customer a receipt. The ask for the customers address for the receipt then go to the customers house at a later date and just drive the car away.

Edited May 21, 2017 by Snowy79
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