Bluetooth alleged to be source of UK crime wave
posted Jun 16th 2005 10:15PM
We'd like to think that the great
Bluesnarfing panic is behind us, but it
looks like it's re-emerged in another guise. Instead of stealing data, as Bluesnarfers do, these Bluethieves grab your
gear. According to the South Manchester Reporter, crooks in south Manchester are targeting parked cars that contain
high-end laptops or cellphones, which they find by carrying a Bluetooth phone as they stroll past the cars. Local
police claim that at least 20 recent thefts involved Bluetooth. While we suppose there may be some credence to this, we
think it's equally possible that some laptop owners forgot that they had left their computer sitting on the back seat,
or that the thieves took a chance on certain car models that are favored by those with the cash to spend on expensive
gear. Regardless, there's an easy way to address this: just don't leave your gear in the car in the first place (or if
you must leave it behind, stick it in the trunk boot and turn it off).
[Thanks, Richard]
My favorite thing is when people leave a duffel bag of clothes on their back seat and wonder why people break in?
Cellphones and PDAs I can see, but laptops? I'm not aware of any laptop that is broadcasting on bluetooth unless it's actually, you know, on and awake. Which means that someone left the car with their laptop running. I don't know about you all, but I value my battery life far too much to do that. I'd like to see the notes of the guy who wrote the article in the South Manchester Reporter...
I went to Disneyland in April for spring break and I was searching and searching for people with bluetooth. You would think that at Disneyland a very packed place during spring break would have people with bluetooth on discovery. I didnt find anyone the whole time. I find it hard to belive these thiefs walk around that much. I think you would have a better chance if you broke into random BMW's and looked in the trunk than looking for someone on your cellphone then breaking into the nearby cars.
Erm, Bluetooth is much more widespread in Europe than in the US.
America is backward with mobile technology.
There's also the odd idea that bluetooth discovery mode can be turned off after creating a pair in many devices... so you avoid having such troubles as theft and people jumping in on what you're doing... at the very least my phone has such a feature
BB is right. I live in Madrid and usually have no problems finding Bluetooth-enabled phones through Bluejacking.Of course, if I can find them, they can find me.
You can't but find BT device here in Finland. Even though we've all been told to turn it off when not in use. It was on the main news last year.
I also agree with the above post, I think it's more likely that they're hitting cash-mobiles... (Ha, no pun ment!)
This is absolute rubbish. No one leaves a laptop switched on in their car boot and then leaves it parked. Also people tend to take their mobiles with them rather than leave them in a car - switched on.
brenda from madrid? could it be, brenda roberts?
brenda from madrid? could it be, brenda roberts?
I doubt they leave it fully powered on, but I do wonder if a hibernate/sleep mode might leave some bluetooth circuits active so wake-on-mouse/keyboard activity might work.
Anyone know if this is the case with any laptops, that bluetooth stays active unless you're completely powered off?
I think if you close the lid of your computer it is really asleep and turns most everything off and just keeps the RAM juiced so when you open the lid it pops back on. I think running bluetooth in sleep would drain that battery too much for a sleep mode. I leave my laptop in sleep for weeks sometimes.