Photo: Screenshot
WATCH: Thieves steal laptop at a petrol station in Pretoria
In a blink of an eye, thieves in a white WV stole a laptop from an SUV parked next to them a petrol station in Lynwood, Pretoria.
Photo: Screenshot
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, two men in a white VW steal a laptop from a blue SUV at a petrol station in Lynnwood, Pretoria.
THIEVES STEAL LAPTOP AT A PRETORIA PETROL STATION
While the SUV driver gets out of his car, one of the two men in a car parked next to his slightly opens one of the doors so that the car doesn’t lock.
As soon as the man leaves his car he thoroughly checks that both the doors on his side are locked before walking away. He doesn’t realise that doors on the other side aren’t locked.
When the owner of the car walks away, thieves reverse their car and pretend to be leaving as well. One of the thieves goes straight to the back seats of the victim’s car and in a blink of an eye he steals a laptop.
They then drive off on their VW polo with a registration plate JW 02 PL – GP
Car-jamming and remote-jamming are some of the most common crimes in South Africa, especially in shopping malls and petrol stations.
Thieves jam the signal from the immobiliser to the car so it does not lock even when the owner presses the ‘lock’ button.
According to Old Mutual, the most recent crime statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS), support this trend, as it showed 4 513 car jackings in the first quarter of 2021 – a 4.9% increase over the same period last year. According to the report, carjacking’s took place mostly in formal and non-formal residence in the country’s townships followed by suburbs in urban areas. Remote jamming is one of the methods that thieves use to steal cars and/or valuable items left in the car.
“Most vehicle and gate remotes operate on the same frequency, making it easier to interfere with the signals. Thus, a driver will be under the impression they’ve locked their vehicle while they haven’t. This often happens outside of shopping centres, airports, or other places of interest,” Christelle Colman from Old Mutual explained.
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