Looked innocent enough to the neighbor. Two men in broad daylight arrived at the victim’s home in a tow truck. Reportedly sat in front of the victim’s house rustling some papers went to the front door and then loaded the victim’s vehicle on the truck and left.

The problem is, the couple claims there is no reason it should have been towed. The vehicle was not parked improperly, it’s paid for, and the police have no report of it being repossessed or towed.

Virginia law requires that all tow trucks display the owner’s company name and address on both side of the vehicle. While it is unclear whether or not this truck displayed any markings, it brings us to an important safety tip.

Making notes in a journal of some sort of the things that you see in your neighborhood may prove to be very helpful. Even if you think it looks normal, write it down. As an example, a car that you have never seen before stops at a neighbor’s house. Nothing looks out of the ordinary, but then 10 days later, you find out that your neighbor was a victim of a burglary. A license plate number would be great. If you wrote it down, case closed. Even if nothing ever comes of the information, nobody knows, no harm no fowl.

If these items are stolen from your vehicle they may give unauthorized access to your home and put you at risk of identity theft.

Imagine you are out shopping one day and when you return to your car you find that it has been broken into. Meanwhile, the thief pressed home on your GPS or got your address from your vehicle registration and is using your GPS to find the way.

The thief gets to your house before you do and opens the garage door with the remote he stole while stealing your GPS and now he is in your house or waiting in your garage for you to get home.

There are reports of this happening across the country. Protect yourself by keeping these items separate and locked away.