Baltimore County Official: Don't Make It Easy for Thieves to Wipe You Out

Modern technology is all about making many daily tasks easier and accomplishing them faster and more efficiently.

But that same technology can make it easier for bad guys to perform their tasks faster and more efficiently, according to Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

In his latest newsletter to constituents, Shellenberger shared the story of homeowners who unwittingly led thieves to their home.

The saga began when the residents were at a football game. Thieves broke into their car and stole an electronic garage door opener, a GPS "which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard," and some money, according to Shellenberger.

When the victims went home after the game, they found their home had been ransacked and "just about everything worth anything had been stolen," according to Shellenberger.

The tech-savvy thieves used the GPS to guide them to the house, and then used the garage door opener to gain access to the house. They knew exactly where the owners were and how long they'd be gone, so they knew how much time they had to steal what they wanted to steal.

To prevent this type of theft from happening, Shellenberger suggests not entering your home address in your GPS.

Instead, use a nearby address of a store, gas station or similar business.

"You can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS is stolen," Shellenberger wrote in the message.