Car thieves target GPS units to rob homes

The Insurance Industry of Canada warns drivers not to input their home addresses in their GPS units. CBC

Technology-savvy thieves are stealing cars and using the vehicle’s global position systems to navigate to the owner’s home so they can break in there as well, according to the insurance industry.

Rick Dubin, the vice-president of investigative services for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said car thieves are starting to learn how to manipulate GPS units so they can turn one theft into two.

"If they break into your vehicle and they grab your GPS, and let's say the vehicle is a BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, [Jaguar] or Lexus, they know you're fairly well off, probably, and now they've got your address,” he said.

“They could go home, to your home address and break in."

Dubin said most GPS units can also be removed, so car owners should take the device with them, or conceal them in their vehicle.

As well, Dubin said people should not input their home address into the GPS unit, just in case it is stolen.

“I've got a case here and it was in the U.S. where an individual went to a football game. While he was at the football game, they stole his GPS, and broke into his house and cleaned it out while he was still at the game,” he said.

Some police forces in New Brunswick have reported a recent rash of thefts from unlocked cars.