Skytag News Feed

Mini theft 'gone baliistic'

Marcus Villabbb — 2013-04-17T18:35:39+00:00

Thefts of Classic Mini increasing...

Classic Mini Thefts Continue To Rise

2012 saw a dramatic increase in the theft of classic Mini cars from across the UK, with many of the owners clubs and associated web forums reporting a noticeable increase in numbers of vehicles stolen. One leading classic car magazine reporting on the concerns, described the issue as having ‘gone ballistic’

2013 sadly seems to be seeing a continuation of this worrying trend, according to research conducted by leading classic and specialist vehicle tracking company, Skytag GPS. Guy Topsom, Managing Director of Skytag explained – ‘So far in 2013 we are aware of almost 30 incidents of classic mini thefts in the UK, a rate averaging 2 vehicles per week, quite astonishing considering we believe that our sources probably only capture 25 – 30% of the total number of incidents. It does, however, confirm a marked increase in the trend for classic Mini thefts, with most of the vehicles stolen being broken up to fuel a buoyant, and for the criminals, profitable, second-hand spares market’

Research and understanding the issues are a vital first step according to Guy. ‘We’ve seen similar patterns with other makes of vehicle in the past’, he explained. ‘Initially incidents seem random or unfortunate and as such may not be widely reported. This can mean that many owners remain blissfully unaware of the threat to their cherished vehicles, or possibly just believe they are unlikely to become victims themselves. As knowledge of the increasing number of thefts becomes well-known, owners are more likely to take steps to protect themselves, ensuring their vehicles are more securely stored or parked, increasing security measures and also sharing information regarding incidents. Social media has a part to play too; we provide regular updates of thefts from numerous sources on our Twitter feed (@SkytagGPS), an increasingly powerful tool in the fight against crime. To summarise, Guy said, ‘It’s almost impossible to protect a vehicle 100% against theft, although naturally we recommend owners take every step they can. Buying a tracker is of course the best way to ensure the safe return of your vehicle, should the worst happen. We have a number of solutions available, tailored to suit different owners’ requirements. We’re always happy to discuss these with potential customers and encourage them to call and discuss what we can do for them - at the end of the day it’s all about peace of mind’

If you would like to see Skytag in action, look out for ‘The Italian Job’ Mini rally 2013 and also the Help 4 Heroes European Rally 2013. Skytag are proud to support both events and will be providing live tracking of all the vehicles involved.

Stolen vehicle recovery

Marcus Villabbb — 2011-10-19T13:07:19+00:00

Record recovery with arrests.

South Yorkshire police help set new uk speed record for stolen vehicle recovery!!

Press release

For release 29/11/11 12.00 GMT

Skytag today announce that their 12 minute stolen vehicle recovery record which has stood since September 2009 has been beaten! By Skytag themselves!!

At 23.19 on 28th November 2011 the Skytag team received a call from a South Yorkshire Land Rover owner to report his vehicle had been stolen. Just 11 minutes later at 23.30 Skytag were able to report back to the client that South Yorkshire police had been directed straight to the vehicle which had made its way into nearby countryside. Guy Topsom, Managing director at Skytag said ‘The vehicle owner could hardly believe it was all over so quickly, it is quite astonishing when you think about it. We were able to start tracking the vehicle as soon as the client called us, our systems are always on 24/7 365 days a year, so there’s no delay, the second we received the call we had the vehicle in sight on our screens, all that remains then is to direct the police in to secure the vehicle.

Once again we’re incredibly thankful to South Yorkshire Police for their speed of response; it is only with their efforts that this record has been achieved. Having been directed to the vehicle, officers called in the South Yorkshire police helicopter and dog handlers who were able to track and arrest two suspects who had left the scene on foot into the surrounding countryside. At the moment we understand the suspects are still in Police custody and forensic work is being carried out on the vehicle. We understand that the method of theft was forced entry.

Naturally the Skytag customer is ecstatic at the result. The Skytag-gps.co.uk tracker was purchased for him as a gift by his father, who having heard about the incredibly high level of Land Rover thefts in the Sheffield / Rotherham area thought it would make an ideal gift for his son to help him protect his £10,000 vehicle, especially as he had a vehicle stolen in the past.

Key Points:

* Recovered in 11 mins from initial call to the police.
* Immediate Police response
* Dogs and Helicopter used
* 2 Suspects in custody
* Investigation ongoing
* New recovery record

Skytag www.skytag-gps.co.uk provide a wide range of vehicle tracking solutions for both private and commercial applications. Offering excellent value for money, monthly testing and a unique 100% money back guarantee.

Skytag also include peace of mind as standard.

#########

Follow us on Twitter @SkytagGPS

23/09/2011 - Vehicle recovered and thief arrested

Marcus Villabbb — 2011-09-23T22:21:45+00:00

Two for one!

Skytag - Two for one!

Skytag-gps.co.uk achieved another success last night by recovering a customers stolen Land Rover Defender and providing Kent Police with the opportunity to arrest the thief responsible.

The operation - which lasted around an hour - following the initial report from the vehicle owner, involved Skytags own operators, around 12 police units, including dogs and the Kent police helicopter. Covering around 40 miles in the Kent countryside the stolen vehicle which was travelling at speeds of up to 85mph looked like it may enter the motorway network. Fortunately the thieves remained on mainly ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads allowing Police units to follow at a safe distance not revealing their presence until they could safely recover the vehicle and arrest the perpetrator.

Live on Twitter! Followers of @skytagGps on the twitter network were treated to a live account of the operation as it happened. Skytag operators updated the feed throughout with details of the vehicle speed and progress of the police; it’s believed this is the first time that Twitter has been used to ‘broadcast’ details of a stolen vehicle pursuit, recovery and arrest in real time.

Skytag would particularly like to thank Kent Police. Skytag Managing Director Guy Topsom had this to say – ‘Support from Kent Police was frankly unbelievable! We understand at its peak the operation involved 12 mobile units, including dog units and also the Kent Police helicopter. The speed at which they were able to react and the resources that were made available were outstanding. There was a continuous dialog from Skytag during the operation, providing police with location, direction of travel and speed. The Police were also providing feedback on their locations and tactics. At times the vehicle was travelling through villages and small town centres, the last thing anyone wants in those circumstances is a high speed chase. The two way communication between us and the police I believe was vital to achieving the result in a controlled and safe manner.’

The owner of the vehicle is naturally delighted with the result. The vehicle was well protected and had an alarm system, immobiliser and steering wheel lock fitted, as well as the Skytag tracker of course, it was also kept in a secure location at the owner’s rural Kent village home. The owner commented that his wife had seen the vehicle outside when closing the curtains downstairs, then just 15 mintues later she was upstairs to do the same, it was gone! Thankfully due to Skytag the customers’ vehicle was recovered with minimal damage.

Skytag and Police 2 : Thieves 0

Camper & Bus

Marcus Villabbb — 2011-09-16T14:03:06+00:00

At Risk - VW campers..........

Although far from a new phenomena the theft of VW camper and buses, old and new remains a concern for owners everywhere.

In response to this Skytag have collaborated with industry leading publication 'Camper & Bus' magazine to highlight the risks and promote the use of leading tracking solutions from Skytag as well as other 'traditional' methods of protection.

'Camper & Bus' are sadly no strangers to the risk of theft, having had one of their own project vehicles stolen.

VW Theft - Camper & Bus lose 'Project Vehicle'

Marcus Villabbb — 2011-09-16T13:42:38+00:00

Leading VW publication 'Camper & Bus' Project Vehicle stolen.

Any vehicle theft is annoying, expensive and inconvenient to its owner. However few are as high profile as when a leading industry publisher, is the victim of theft and the vehicle concerned the subject of a long term conversion project to be featured in the popular monthly magazine.

The full article can be viewed on the Camper and Bus website.

Countyfile article

Marcus Villabbb — 2011-04-03T23:08:05+00:00

Land Rover thefts featured on BBC's Countryfile

Within minutes of the BBC's popular Countryfile programme being aired last night Land Rover owners took to the internet to voice their dismay.

Postings on owner’s forums and Twitter updates all shared a common message, owners asking why the BBC had chosen to report on the issue in such a way. Most Land Rover owners are already aware of the theft risk associated, and many have taken a variety of precautions to protect their vehicles, including fitting trackers. However the programme went much further, with many viewers seeing it as a 'how to' guide on Land Rover crime.

To underestimate the power of such a high profile BBC programme like Countryfile would certainly be a mistake, in the hours following Countryfile the Skytag website saw traffic well beyond normal Sunday evening levels. Fortunately everything coped, although some visitors may have noticed it was rather slower than usual.

We're sure that the BBC Countryfile team will be receiving a full post bag from Land rover owners, most of them unhappy (to put it mildly!) with John Craven's report. Unfortunately even an apology cannot undo the potential damage that has been done.

Skytag locate trackers are fitted to all manner of vehicles and assets but we'd like to think we have a special relationship with the Land rover community. If, as a result of the Countryfile programme you have become more concerned about your vehicle security, give us a call. We always do our best to offer our customers the best advice and have a range of options which can be tailored to suit your needs.

Press release - Skytag Nightsafe

Marcus Villabbb — 2011-02-18T12:18:07+00:00

Nightsafe announced....

For release 16^th February 2011 at 13.00hrs

Skytag Ltd (www.skytag-gps.co.uk) today announces an innovative security solution.

Automotive security experts Skytag ltd are pleased to introduce their innovative new vehicle security measure ‘Nightsafe’.

‘Nightsafe’ is designed to offer users increased levels of protection at the most vulnerable time. Once set up by the Skytag team, ‘Nightsafe’ will alert the user if the protected vehicle moves away from the protected home zone during the night (11:59pm to 05.00am).

Guy Topsom, Skytag Managing director said – “Other companies offer movement alerts in one form or another however we have identified that users very often give up using them, due to false alarms or simply forget to ‘arm’ the tracker.

Key fob and ignition based switches are also less effective because increasingly vehicles are stolen with the keys (85% last Year)! This is done by either breaking into the target home or ‘fishing’ through a letterbox or cat flap.”

‘Nightsafe’ is unique, there is no action required by the owner to switch on or off, it is 100% automatic. Where other systems are often left unused because the user forgets or becomes complacent ‘Nightsafe’ continues to provide protection.

The main benefit of the new service is that users are alerted to a problem within just minutes of the theft, allowing Skytag to start tracking the vehicle and guide the police to its location quickly, minimising any potential damage or loss, also greatly increasing the chances for the police to catch the thieves red handed.

Guy added “Because ‘Nightsafe is automated false alarms are no longer an issue. A user can continue to use their vehicle normally without concern. If an alert is trigged accidentally during the cover period the user can simply ignore the alerts which they will receive on both their mobile and home telephone, safe in the knowledge that they themselves are with the vehicle”

Priced at just £4 per month as an upgrade to the standard service, Skytag says it can provide the additional service to the vast majority of its customers, although it’s less effective for people who regularly use their vehicles during the night or extremely early in the morning, so Milkmen and Vampires need not apply!

Available to new customers signing up for Skytag services via their website www.skytag-gps.co.uk ‘Nightsafe’ is available to existing customers who have a Skytag ‘Locate’ GPS tracker installed as a simple service upgrade.

#########

To learn more about Nightsafe read the full article here.

Latest recovery sets new record!

Marcus Villabbb — 2010-10-13T22:44:41+00:00

13th October 2010 - Manchester Land Rover recovery sets new record......

For Release 9 a.m. GMT

13th October 2010

Skytag GPS set new record for recovery of stolen vehicle.

In the early hours of Wednesday the 13th October a Land Rover Defender in the Greater Manchester area set a new Skytag record by being recovered in just 12 minutes.

The Land Rover Defender was reported stolen to Skytag at 02:47am and Oldham and Manchester Police were alongside the vehicle at 02:59am.

Guy Topsom Managing Director of Skytag commented. “We would like to thank Greater Manchester Police for their outstanding assistance and response to this theft. Without Skytag and the co-operation of the officers on the ground it could have been just another unsolved and un-recovered theft, however our operator was able to pinpoint the location to within 5 metres and quickly guide the police to the vehicles location.”

“We pride ourselves on our 100% recovery record and believe that this new 12 minute record will be very difficult to beat, but we will keep trying!!”

The client purchased the Skytag unit after reading an article & reader offer in a leading Land Rover Magazine.

The vehicle owner was ecstatic with recovering his vehicle so quickly and with very little damage. “I have had a vehicle stolen previously, so for the price of a couple of pints a month this was the ideal solution. I am so pleased to have read the article and taken advantage of the offer. Skytag is an excellent product and has given me peace of mind and now superb results.”

Skytag always recommend leaving the recovery of stolen vehicles to the appropriate authorities as attempting to prevent or recover your property can result in injury.

Land Rover Defenders

Marcus Villabbb — 2009-10-29T20:52:42+00:00

Land Rover Defenders at risk! read full article.....

Unfortunately all models of Land Rovers, new and old continue to be popular targets for car thieves, in fact they rank within the top 5 vehicles most at risk in the UK. Skytag is fast becoming the tracking system of choice amongst the Land Rover community and we are proud to work with many of the UK's best known suppliers and specialists, many of whom not only recommend our trackers but also use them on their own vehicles.

Sadly the following links are just a small selection of recent news articles from across the UK - Contact us now to discuss how SKYTAG can protect your Land Rover.

Gone in 60 seconds!

Here's one of the articles we came across on the What Car website (Link opens in a new Window)

Huddesfield news report - Land Rover thefts average one a week

***Yet more reports of Land Rover thefts. View the article and police warining here.***

Alarming rise in Key thefts - Range Rovers and Freelanders targeted

September 2010 - Police warning of Defender thefts in Northamptonshire

Thief locked up - Land Rover recovered thanks to tracking device

Visit our store - Skytag Buy on line.