Be vigilant with your possessions

[Dave Hounddriver]

12 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

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.

Your whole post is quite informative and this last bit is enlightening.  I am worried about carjackings, which I do not see happening here but I believe it will catch on fast among the "bad guys" who have no trouble riding up to someone on a motorcycle and having the back rider shoot the car driver.  Soon they will learn they can push the body over, get behind the wheel and drive the evidence away plus make a profit on it. 

 

What I wonder about, is why you can program your IPhone so it will not work without your thumbprint but you do not seem to be able to do that to your car.  

[Snowy79]

9 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Your whole post is quite informative and this last bit is enlightening.  I am worried about carjackings, which I do not see happening here but I believe it will catch on fast among the "bad guys" who have no trouble riding up to someone on a motorcycle and having the back rider shoot the car driver.  Soon they will learn they can push the body over, get behind the wheel and drive the evidence away plus make a profit on it. 

 

What I wonder about, is why you can program your IPhone so it will not work without your thumbprint but you do not seem to be able to do that to your car.  

There's been lots of cases of it in South Africa where that's all they do. A bullet to the head then push the body out of the way. In the UK it's been the reason for a lot more burglaries. The thieves know they need the keys now.

Another thing the manufacturers are doing which not only helps security it makes it more difficult to steel then strip a car for parts is by fitting tiny microchips inside all electrical parts of the vehicle. When you switch the ignition on the ECU scans all parts, starter motor, wiper motor, dash etc. If the ECU notices the microchip has the VIN from another car on it the car won't start. It also means you have to get genuine parts from the dealer ho will obviously up the price as second hand parts are useless.

 

Edited May 21, 2017 by Snowy79

[ITGeek]

If someone is intent on stealing something, they will eventually find a way to take it.  As someone previously stated, no amount of security measures will stop a determined and professional thief.  All you can do is make your property less attractive or more difficult for the average thief and they'll move on to an easier target.

As foreigners, we're already a mark for locals.  So maintaining good situational awareness is key for safety.  For example, if I ride to the mall, I always park at secured lot, greet and thank the workers (security guard and cashier) in tagalog.  It's an easy way to make a couple of friends, who would rather look out for me than lose face if something happens to me or my property in their care.

I've received a lot training in covert ops and influencing others.  It's all psychological games in either gaining their trust or distracting them from your intent or actions.  

Always make eye contact with people around you with a smile.  It's a common psyop technique that distracts any possible adversary in a non threatening manner.  While they're confused about why you're smiling, you're already assessing their threat level and any preparing for any defensive reaction should the need arise.

Sun Tzu's Art of War always applies.  Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.  The enemy of your enemies is your friend.  In this culture (and most Asian) shame any friend that betrays your confidence.  Losing face is big stigma around here.  They're word is no longer good in the community.

[Gary D]

2 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

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.

Just think on the business opportunity, beside every vulcanising shop a hot wire specialist.

[ITGeek]

 

5 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Your whole post is quite informative and this last bit is enlightening.  I am worried about carjackings, which I do not see happening here but I believe it will catch on fast among the "bad guys" who have no trouble riding up to someone on a motorcycle and having the back rider shoot the car driver.  Soon they will learn they can push the body over, get behind the wheel and drive the evidence away plus make a profit on it. 

 

What I wonder about, is why you can program your IPhone so it will not work without your thumbprint but you do not seem to be able to do that to your car.  

One bad thing about biometrics being used for security purposes.  Once a biometric has been comprised, it can no longer be used for security.  Think of the movie "Minority Report" starring Tom Cruise.  The part where retinal scans were used to ID people, he had to have his eyeball replaced to fool the system.  Most banks and online accounts have started using multi-factor authentication:
1 - Something you have (key, bank card, smartphone)
2 - Something you know (password, PIN)
3 - Something you are (biometric)
4 - Where are you (gps, ip address, etc)
5 - When it is (temporal/time based access)

One thing I would willfully refuse to accept having an RFID (passive transponder) implanted into my body.  Although I'm sure some forum members with pacemakers or other newer medical implants may not realize they already have RFID embedded within them.  When my uncle was alive, his Cardiologist could download his pacemaker data over the phone or at medical facility.  

That aside, like you said bad guys can bypass all of these security measures and take what they want by force if needed.  The only thing guaranteed in life are death and taxes 

 

[Jack Peterson]

Seems we are now far off Topic to the actual Topic, really we just need to be Vigilant and take all the precautions we need too. New cars are pretty safe and YES! If they want it they will have it but it is not just cars or Bikes is it?

[sonjack2847]

Last Thursday I Dave and Peter were at Why not.It was in the early afternoon and there were plenty of people about.There was a guy who MB was missing from outside.There was a report of a stolen MB from somebodies front yard in Daro. Now that is 2 I have heard of in a week so it seems quite prevalent here.

I told my friend in Valencia about the experience I had there with my MB and he said no way would it happen as there are too many people there.Well maybe the thieves have figured out that if there a lot of people about they can blend in to the crowd.I base this on the fact that Dave`s MB was stolen outside  Casablanca and now this one has gone from outside Why not.Also these are 2 I have heard of in busy places so how many have I not heard of.

Ofcourse it is not Just MBs we have to worry about but all of our possessions.

[scott h]

22 minutes ago, sonjack2847 said:

how many have I not heard of.

Kome on guys, you are behind the times, motorcycles now days are considered to be like those communal rental bikes you see in lots of metropolitan areas. You come out of a store, just jump on the nearest bike and off you go! Its the new rage

[mogo51]

Very interesting, thanks Kev.

[Bruce]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 1:57 AM, sonjack2847 said:

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.

The actual phrase about using locks is "To keep the honest people, honest". But you really know things are bad in the greater Cebu region when you are out at a bar with your GF and you go to the CR and come back and she is G O NE !