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Top 10 Tips To Avoid A Car Break-in And Deal With The Aftermath
During our recent spring break trip to San Francisco, we fell victim to a smash and grab car break in. Unfortunately, this is a crime that is becoming all too common in several of the major US cities, with San Francisco being one of the worst. A December 2021 story on a bay area NBC affiliate reported that car break-ins have increased nearly 200% in the last year, with the city averaging 74 of these incidents per day.
During our stay in the bay area we noticed repeated signs in all the major tourist areas warning that “This area is a smash-and-grab hotspot!”. We did our best to not leave any valuables in our car and made it through the first several days without incident. On the morning of our last day in San Francisco we checked out of our hotel, loaded up the car and made the fateful mistake of returning to the city for one last set of pictures.
The sky was a beautiful shade of blue and the temperature was just right for a short stroll around the “Painted Ladies” area, known for the vibrantly colored row of houses featured in the 1980’s series “Full House”. We felt lucky to get one of the last spaces available, parallel parked, and started to stroll away from the car. Within seconds we heard the sound of multiple bus and car horns honking loudly and incessantly. At first, we didn’t know what was going on but after about 30 seconds Kim turned back to look at our car and to her shock and dismay noticed that there was someone inside!
She yelled to get my attention and when I spun around it finally dawned on me what all of the ruckus was about. We both began running toward the car and shouting and I quickly hit the panic button on the keychain. But arriving to the car it became obvious that we were too late…the driver’s side rear window had been completely smashed in!
A quick survey inside revealed our fate… My backpack and Weston’s backpack were gone, as well as Kim’s clutch-purse, backpack, and cosmetic bag. Kym called the police while I talked with several concerned and helpful residents who offered pictures and descriptions of the guilty parties. A quick tally revealed the value of the items missing was approximately $2000!
Shortly thereafter two officers arrived, took our statements, and explained that this was an embarrassing but all too common occurrence in their fair city. They shared with us that this type of thing happens not only to parked cars, but even to those that still have occupants inside! After our discussions with them we proceeded to the airport to switch out our smashed rental car for an intact one, and thought we would share with you the top 10 things we learned to help minimize your chances of a car break in and help keep you going if it does happen.
1. Never leave valuables of any kind in the car.
No matter how short your stop is, your valuables are like a magnet to thieves. We were robbed less than two minutes after parking, while we were still within 50 feet of the car!
2. Be aware of your surroundings.
Even though car break-ins are commonplace in San Francisco, many of the city residents still try to help. Had we been aware that the horns we heard were a warning that our car was being broken into, we could have possibly lessened the damage by returning to the vehicle sooner.
3. Consider buying rental car insurance.
as a general rule, we do not purchase the additional insurance offered by the rental company. And all the years that we’ve traveled and rented cars we’ve never had an incident, and our policy from State Farm extends onto our rental vehicle. However, in this instance I wish I had purchased the extra insurance from Hertz. Because I didn’t, I will be having to deal with the rental company and my insurance in order to cover the damages.
4. Always keep you wallet/passport/I’D on your possession.
Fortunately I had my drivers license, one credit card, and $12 cash in my pocket so we were able to finish our trip and I had no trouble boarding the plane to come home. Kim on the other hand lost her ID and her entire wallet in the robbery! So she had to be interviewed by TSA the morning of our flight home in order to be allowed past the security checkpoint.
5. Take your whole prescription bottle with you instead of just a pill box!
While organizing your medications in a pillbox can be quite convenient, your name on the printed prescription bottle can help prove your identity to TSA. Having this really made Kim’s TSA interview a lot easier.
6. Having a GPS tracker can help you find your stolen stuff.
We were able to track our son’s watch, which was attached to his backpack, and that helped us be able to find his stuff (we will definitely be investing in Apple Air Tags to go on our luggage in the future)
7. Carry some cash and at least 1 credit card on you besides in purse/wallet/backpack.
Having 1 credit card and some cash made life a little easier and allowed us to finish our trip. If we hadn’t had that card it would’ve made things a lot harder. Fortunately, credit cards that are added to your digital wallet (such as Apple Pay) can continue to be used even after the physical card is reported as stolen. But, of course…not every location accepts digital payment methods.
8. Always carry your cell phone on your person…never leave it in the car.
Another life saver was that we had our phones on us…that allowed to quickly call the police, cancel credit cards that were stolen, track our son’s backpack, and call our insurance & car rental company.
9. Never keep both sets of your home/personal vehicle keys in the rental vehicle/luggage.
This was something I had never thought of before, but since we had both sets of keys fobs for Kim’s car with us they both got stolen in the robbery. So when we landed back in Memphis it was quite a headache and it took several hours (and a small fortune) to get to 2 key fobs from a local dealer delivered to us at the airport and have them programmed to match Kim’s car.
10. Have a trusted contact person back home that has access to your personal documents.
Kim wasn’t able to get a temporary photo ID from the California DMV since we were not residents and she did not have her birth certificate on hand. But, we did have the option of calling our trusted contact person who could have gotten Kim’s passport and mailed it to us on the road. In the end we decided to take our chances with the TSA interview (and fortunately it worked) but it’s comforting to have this back up option as well.