Jan 11, 2008 10:06 pm US/Central
Guard Your GPS Systems
AURORA, Ill. (CBS) ―
One of the most popular gifts for the holiday season turns out to be a very "hot item" targeted by thieves.
Global positioning systems hang from a windshield or sit up on a dashboard. They're easy picking for gadget thieves. Since the first of the year, police in Aurora have had nine reports of stolen GPS units.
"Smash and grabs where people are breaking in, smashing through a window, grabbing these systems, and taking off -- and this takes literally seconds to do," Sgt. Chris Whitfield of the Aurora Police Department said.
Most of the thefts in Aurora happened near Westfield's Fox Valley Mall. Police say mall parking lots are perfect places to get away with the crime.
"These thieves are looking for something in plain view, that they can go and grab easily," Whitfield said.
The units cost anywhere from $200 to $1,000. GPS owners CBS 2 talked to aren't surprised the units are hot, and now they are taking precautions.
"Whenever I leave my car, I always put it in my glove box," said Heather Wojtecki.
"We've heard of the thefts and I don't want that to cause somebody to break into our car, so we take it with us," said Bryan Williams.
Whitfield says that's great advice – some he gave his parents on Christmas Day, after they opened the GPS unit he gave them.
"Right after they opened it I told them to put it away -- it's a glaring beacon for somebody to come and rip it off," Whitfield said.
The FBI says that stealing gadgets like GPS units is one of the fastest growing categories of crime.
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