Never leave a laptop in a car
EDITOR—ON April 9 at 8.00pm, my car was broken into and my laptop stolen at Shell Fuel Station in Ntinda opposite Crest Foam factory. It took less than the 10 minutes I spent in the Shell shop for the thugs to accomplish his devilish mission.
EDITOR—ON April 9 at 8.00pm, my car was broken into and my laptop stolen at Shell Fuel Station in Ntinda opposite Crest Foam factory. It took less than the 10 minutes I spent in the Shell shop for the thugs to accomplish his devilish mission.
You cannot begin imagining the devastation at losing so much data and information stored on a laptop I have had for five years! This is to alert you on how you can avoid this happening to you as well. I had parked right at the entrance of the shop, in the full glare of lights, at a busy petrol station with two armed askaris on duty. I knew I would spend a few minutes in the shop which is small and not quite busy.
This is what lured me into leaving the laptop inside the vehicle on the floor of the co-driver’s seat hardly visible! Under no circumstances must you ever leave a laptop in your vehicle unless you have left an adult inside. People travelling in a Toyota Land Cruiser just briefly parked right next to mine, one got out and stood next to my car for just a few minutes and they drove off.
That is all that an eyewitness recalls. But I found the door lock of the driver’s side forced open. He did not even touch my suitcase on the back seat of the car which was quite visible. The Police confirmed to me that this is the new style of stealing laptops from vehicles.
The Police officer’s words were: “Be wary or very afraid of any Land Cruisers older models....attempting to park next to your car at a supermarket or fuel filling station or restaurant, especially if you have valuables in the car.
The occupants usually include a young woman seated in the co-driver’s seat. In the event of such an occurence, just drive off.†The officer’s explanation was that the Land Cruisers are usually rented, self-drive vehicles so the thugs cannot be traced.
But most importantly they are high vehicles and the thugs would confirm clearly what is inside their target car even if your car has tinted windows! The officer also said that the thugs these days have technology that detects the presence of a laptop.
This explains why they are always 100% on target. Once they detect the presence of a laptop, they trail you until they get an opportunity (like the one I gave them) to strike.
Rose Mary Kemigisha
Kampala
You cannot begin imagining the devastation at losing so much data and information stored on a laptop I have had for five years! This is to alert you on how you can avoid this happening to you as well. I had parked right at the entrance of the shop, in the full glare of lights, at a busy petrol station with two armed askaris on duty. I knew I would spend a few minutes in the shop which is small and not quite busy.
This is what lured me into leaving the laptop inside the vehicle on the floor of the co-driver’s seat hardly visible! Under no circumstances must you ever leave a laptop in your vehicle unless you have left an adult inside. People travelling in a Toyota Land Cruiser just briefly parked right next to mine, one got out and stood next to my car for just a few minutes and they drove off.
That is all that an eyewitness recalls. But I found the door lock of the driver’s side forced open. He did not even touch my suitcase on the back seat of the car which was quite visible. The Police confirmed to me that this is the new style of stealing laptops from vehicles.
The Police officer’s words were: “Be wary or very afraid of any Land Cruisers older models....attempting to park next to your car at a supermarket or fuel filling station or restaurant, especially if you have valuables in the car.
The occupants usually include a young woman seated in the co-driver’s seat. In the event of such an occurence, just drive off.†The officer’s explanation was that the Land Cruisers are usually rented, self-drive vehicles so the thugs cannot be traced.
But most importantly they are high vehicles and the thugs would confirm clearly what is inside their target car even if your car has tinted windows! The officer also said that the thugs these days have technology that detects the presence of a laptop.
This explains why they are always 100% on target. Once they detect the presence of a laptop, they trail you until they get an opportunity (like the one I gave them) to strike.
Rose Mary Kemigisha
Kampala