Is your car the key to your kingdom?

H. Kishie Singh

My friend was going to open his shop in the morning and I was riding along with him. Very proudly, he showed me the key ring for his car’s key. It had just one single key.

“I read your column and you had mentioned that to have many steel keys on the keychain could create a magnetic field of their own and interfere with the remote functioning. “The keys to the house are big and heavy; these I leave in the car!”

Oops! The friend hadn’t realised that this could lead to another problem. Should the car be stolen, the baddie has the keys to your kingdom. The registration certificate and the insurance papers will give him the address of your residence or business. He will thank you as he walks into your shop or home. Since he is opening the lock, not breaking in, no one will question him.

That was not all. Along with the keys, my friend also had his cheque book in the glove box. Some people live out of their cars. It is a sign of a lazy and highly disorganised person.

Thank you for following my advice, friends. These are helpful hints. But do look one step ahead of the move you make. No plan can be perfect. To be on the safe side, keep nothing of value in your car, certainly not your cheque book. Your bank must have called you and warned you not to give any information over the phone to anyone regarding your account. Conmen call posing as bank representatives; do not entertain such calls.

The other day my cheque arrived from the bank by post in a window envelope. Along with my address, my name, my wife’s name and both our phone numbers were visible in the window. The cheques inside had my account number. The only thing missing was my date of birth and my blood group!

In case of non-delivery of the cheque book, the name of the bank and address was on the envelope. Considering that you are advised to keep your cheque book in a safe place and not divulge personal information to a third party, this is a serious lapse of security. A person with mal intent could clean out your bank account faster than you can say ‘Thiruvananthapuram’! 

There is another emerging problem. If you go to a party and use the valet service to park your car, the valet knows you will be gone for a couple of hours. That is enough time for the valet’s accomplice to zip off to the ‘chaabi wala’ and have the key duplicated. A couple of days later your car disappears!

The baddie could next be driving around in your car with all the relevant documents in the glove box. If he is stopped by the police, he will happily tell the police that sahib has sent him on an errand.

Moral of the story is that keeping all your documents in the car is dangerous. Ideally, they should be on your person. You could photograph them on to your cell phone and show that to the police, hoping that they will accept this as proof. In any case, the police are obliged to give you 24 hours to produce the originals. 

The original drivers licence fits into your wallet. That should definitely appease the police.

Happy Motoring!