A report in The Mail online recently detailed how gangs using ‘keyless’ techniques are estimated to have stolen more than 6,000 vehicles in London alone last year. Most are broken down within hours before being loaded on to containers and shipped to Eastern Europe and Africa.

Top-of-the-range BMWs and Range Rovers, as well as Ford Fiestas, Transit and Mercedes Sprinter vans, make up 70 per cent of all vehicles stolen in this way. Range Rovers and other four-wheel-drive vehicles are among the most commonly targeted because they can be used in countries with poor roads.

As a result of these shocking statistics it has become an imperative to find a way to ensure the return of your vehicle in the event that it is stolen and we at Vehicle Tracking Tech have the simplest and most effective solution: one of our state-of-the-art vehicle trackers. With 21^st century technology comprising GPS and GPRS these Thatcham cat 5 or 6 accredited devices will advise the police immediately the vehicle is illegally removed from where you left it giving the best chance of having it returned before it is broken down. With prices covering all budgets plus a nationwide fitting service where you are and when it suits you a vehicle tracker from Vehicle Tracking Tech means giving you the best ever security to ensure your property remains yours!

Car & Vehicle trackers fitted throughout Northampton, Nottingham, Derby, Stoke-on-Trent and nationwide by Thatcham Approved installers from Vehicle Tracking Tech

While car owners are finding vehicle theft is on the increase year on year the theft of a lorry is an even greater loss especially when its contents are stolen with it.

Chocoholics

A recent example of this kind of crime was the theft of a refrigerated trailer with over £200,000 worth of Toblerone chocolate and though the trailer was recovered and the thieves arrested the chocolate was long gone. Taking the biscuit!

Another such example was the theft of a trailer, later recovered, with £20,000 worth of biscuits from the factory they were made in!

It goes without saying that lorry owners need to up the ante when it comes to protecting their vehicles and the merchandise being transported.  For a comparatively small investment the fitting of a vehicle tracker device from Vehicle Tracking Tech could do more than just ‘save your bacon’; in some cases it could mean the difference between staying in or going out of business.

A vehicle tracker is a cunning device which when secreted within the vehicle will give lorry and contents an enhanced level of security that puts the owners back in control with features including:

• GPS, GPRS, GSM & VHF
• Free Global Telemetrics (Android/Apple App)
• Thatcham approved installers
• Thatcham Cat5 incorporates high tech features including motion warning + battery disconnection and a geographic ‘ring fencing’ option
• Separate key & tag to ensure that if one of them is taken the system is activated
• Uniformed guard to stay with vehicle until it and owner are reunited (UK only)
• 24/7 monitoring
• 12/24V compatible
• 1-3 year no quibble guarantee covering parts & labour

Whether your busin

If you’re a motorist, you’ll have no doubt heard of Thatcham before. They test and certify vehicle security products such as car alarms and trackers. If a product carries the Thatcham Quality Assurance (TQA) trademark – recognised by the insurance industry - then basically, that means you can put your trust in it.

When it comes to the vehicle trackers you’ll find here at Vehicle Tracking Tech, each of them are Thatcham approved, according to Category 5, Category 6 and Category 7. In case you’re wondering what the differences are between the categories and more specifically, what those differences mean in terms of the actual trackers themselves, this article aims to explain.

Thatcham Category 5 Trackers

Thatcham CAT 5 is the highest level of accreditation possible. Trackers that are certified as CAT 5 are deemed to provide the very best level of security and so they are particularly ideal for high value and luxury vehicles. With that said, they can be fitted to any vehicle.

CAT 5 vehicle trackers must meet a number of specifications and criteria as set out by Thatcham Research, in order to be certified as such. They must offer remote engine immobilisation, motion sensors, automatic driver recognition (ADR), GPS and GSM technology and full police support (level 1 response).

Examples of our CAT 5 vehicle trackers include CobraTrak 5 and Tracker CAT 5 Plus.

Thatcham Category 6 Trackers

A vehicle tracker accredited to Thatcham CAT 6, the next level of accreditation, is still considered to offer an excellent level of security. A CAT 6 tracker will have many of the same features as those that are certified as CAT 5, but without level 1 police response and remote engine immobilisation.

Many CAT 6 vehicle trackers will include features like GSM, GPS and VHF technology, motion se

“Keyless Go” vehicles have been around for a number of years already and are still proving to be very popular. Many drivers appreciate the comfort and luxury of being able to get into their car and start the engine without having to dig around for their keys.

And they’re not the only ones. There are plenty of car thieves who also like the convenience of passive keyless entry systems – because if they have certain sophisticated equipment, they can electronically hack into them and drive away in someone else’s prized possession within just a few minutes.

Vehicle theft is becoming so advanced that thousands of “Keyless Go” vehicles (including Audis, BMWs, Porches and Fords) are at risk of being stolen each year through electronic hacking or key cloning. It’s an industry-wide problem that major car manufacturers and the metropolitan police in the UK are trying to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

How keyless entry and ignition systems work

In “Keyless Go” vehicles, the driver has a smart key or key fob which they keep with them on their person. It communicates with the vehicle wirelessly once the key fob is within range of the vehicle to allow the driver to unlock the vehicle by simply pulling the door handles.

The driver doesn’t need to touch the car key itself. The driver can then start the vehicle by pressing a start button inside, as long as the key fob is also inside the car (or in some cases, slotted into the dashboard).

So how do thieves break into “Keyless Go” vehicles?

In the event of the driver losing their key fob, many keyless vehicle systems include a feature that allows replacement key fobs to be programmed from data held in the vehicle’s electronics. This feature is protected by security software but unfortunately car theft is becoming so advanced that some hackers have managed to crack security codes and develop devices that can access the vehicle’s data and effectively “clone” a key. The process of key cloning

There are quite a few benefits to be had by installing an in-car camera system or dash cam in your vehicle. One of the main ones has to be the protection of you as the driver, when it comes to your word against someone else’s about what really happened in a road accident.

Avoid “crash for cash” scams

Imagine this for a scenario: you’re innocently driving to work one morning just as you usually do, minding your own business. You get caught up in a little bit of traffic and then something unbelievable happens. Someone literally throws themselves onto your car bonnet and sprawls across your windscreen before rolling off onto the road.

An ambulance arrives and before you know it, you’re accused of driving into that person, causing them injury and now they want to make a claim against you. Sounds unreal doesn’t it? Yet sadly, in this blame-filled world we live in, there are plenty of “crash for cash” scammers out there who will take advantage of innocent drivers in the hope of making some quick money.

Another example of a well-known “crash for cash” scam is demonstrated in this YouTube video where a scammer rolls his car backwards into another vehicle and then demands money for damages before threatening to call the police.

Luckily the car that was backed into had a dash cam installed. Otherwise, the driver of this vehicle would have had to pay up through an insurance claim. This is because if no evidence is available to prove whose fault an accident was, it’s the driver in the vehicle behind that automatically gets the blame.

So you probably see already from these two examples just how useful a dash cam can be. Dash cams are designed to record video and audio footage from the road ahead and they fit discreetly onto the dashboard of a vehicle so that they are virt

Over the last few years, dash cams have become increasingly popular, both for personal and business use. This is because dash cams (also known as black box vehicle camera recorders or in-vehicle CCTV) can often provide irrefutable evidence about what actually happened during vehicle accidents, damage or theft.

Fleet dash cams usually take the form of a small camera that affixes to front, side or back of the vehicle and records the road ahead, to the side or behind. Some types of vehicle camera recorders capture speed and location data as well as audio and high definition video recordings.

If you’re running a business fleet, it’s vital that your vehicles are operational and running as cost-effectively as possible. As well as providing sound evidence to alleviate difficult and stressful situations concerning vehicle incidents, there are a number of other benefits that dash cams can provide when they are being used as a fleet management tool.

1. Reduces the number of fraudulent claims

“Crash and Cash” scams are on the rise and unfortunately company vehicles are often the victims of such cases, as fraudsters target companies in the hope of bigger compensation pay outs. By installing a fleet dash cam, the footage showing what happened in an incident like this can be provided to the insurance company and the claim can be disputed quickly.

In turn, this saves the company who has been targeted – and the insurance company itself – time and money. Insurance companies are often happy to pass on lower insurance premiums to companies that have CCTV installed on their fleet vehicles.

2. Increased driver safety and awareness

Surveys have shown that when vehicle camera recorders are installed on vehicles, this can reduce the number of accidents by up to 45%. This is because drivers will subconsciously take more care on the roads and take responsibility for their actions when they know that there is video recording equipment affixed to