Thanks for the thread - it's crazy to see what some people have lost due to a few despicable individuals. I'm big into cycling, and as you can imagine security is a huge focus for many in that community - but theft rates vary highly by locale.
And I found out the hard way that extends to stuff inside cars, too. My brother and I flew out to San Francisco for a trip to Yosemite last August/September. We had one day in the city - 27 August 2022 - and while street parked near the Fisherman's Wharf, our rental was broken into (like 100 cars/day in San Francisco, as we learned). We were very lucky in a number of ways - that there were bystanders and a caring local resident who held the bags they didn't take and called the police immediately, an undercover officer nearby that was able to address the case quickly, and that my brother's work iPhone was undiscovered in one of the bags that they took - letting the San Francisco PD track down our bags that were dumped within an hour. While the thieves took off with thousands of dollars in camping gear and clothing, they abandoned all of that and only took my binos.
Unfortunately, those were my Canon 10x42L IS WP binoculars - easily my most expensive astro equipment. We have a case with the San Fran PD of course, and they're reported stolen through that system. But in case anyone comes across them, they're serial # 37800118. They had no caps when stolen, as I always left the caps at home - I just took the strap and case when travelling.
Insurance has been a pain to deal with so far - Amex didn't cover any of the contents of the vehicle, and my brother's home insurance deductible is $1000 so that doesn't help much. And it took until now for Amex to get back with us, so I'm just now moving to file with my renter's insurance, which thankfully has a deductible of just $500.
Anyway, some tips for anyone visiting San Francisco or other similar high-theft area:
- San Francisco alone has about 100 car break-ins a day. When we went back to Hertz, the guy checking us in said it was the 6th car that day he had dealt with that had been broken in to. There are signs everywhere warning of break-ins and not to leave any valuables in your vehicle. THEY ARE NOT KIDDING.
- The San Francisco PD is top-notch when it comes to dealing with victims of theft. They did everything we could reasonably expect them to.
- Smash and grab theft tactics take as little as 20 seconds to break into your vehicle and make off with the bags inside. This makes them very hard to stop.
- Thieves in touristy areas look for out of state license plates, and for rental serial tags/bar codes, to identify vehicles with a high probability of expensive items inside. Get a rental car with an in-state plate if possible.
- Putting your bags kind of (or even completely) out of sight doesn't entirely work to eliminate a break-in. The officer on our case says even sedans get broken into (and the trunks opened) sometimes, though at a lower rate than hatches. I would definitely want a sedan next time.
- The officers told us parking ramps are much more secure than street parking, since they're both out of sight and do not provide as easy escape for thieves. We thought street parking would be more visible and discourage a break-in - but that apparently does not work, at least in San Francisco.
- Trackers can really work to recover your stuff - though I don't think Air tag style trackers would have worked nearly as well as a GPS tracker such as an entire iPhone. But I would put Air tags or Tiles or Galaxy tags into any bag you are concerned about being stolen.
- Make sure you have 'Find your iPhone' or the equivalent set up on your other phone if you have more than one (or on your partners', etc.) - my brother had to call his wife and get updates from her as she had his work phone set up, but he didn't on his personal phone.
- If you're visiting a high-risk area, better to leave your stuff at the hotel and take transit around town. Hotels will let you check bags in to secure storage for the day, even when you're checking out.
Much of this came as somewhat of a surprise to me, as here in Michigan, even in very high crime areas of Detroit, such break-ins are relatively rare - but they do happen. Carjacking and grand theft auto are probably not more common, but they get way more exposure here. But there aren't nearly as many tourists in Detroit, and there's lots of chop shops here. Though I do think the stolen car rates in Detroit went down after they busted an organized car theft ring that some corrupt police were involved in.
Edited by Ben L, 09 April 2023 - 11:00 AM.
