Car Theft Prevention: An Executive Discussion With The Ceo Nethinim Technologies Nig Ltd
It is not every day that one gets to meet an influential person from the world of car security. Neighborhood Magazine caught up with Ebubechukwu Nwafor, CEO/President of Nethinim Technologies Nig Ltd, to learn more about the modern-day car security threats and how to prevent them. Ebubechukwu Nwafor, hails from Orumba South Local Government Area in Anambra state, Nigeria. He studied banking and Finance at Anambra state university. The Abuja young car security professional has over 3,000 cars under his watch in roughly 5 years of starting his company.
He has worked in a couple of other tracking companies as a marketer and grew to head the marketing unit before opening his company. Nethinim Technologies Ltd has helped the police and other security agencies on several occasions to crackdown and recovered a lot of stolen cars within and outside Abuja.
The president of the trending Abuja-based car tracking Security Company Nethinim Technologies Ltd over a Zoom interview talks about the car security threats and how they can be prevented.
My friend, if tracking is not important and efficient, the police and the thief won’t be interested in knowing if your car is tracked or not.
What Do You Think Attracts Thieves To A Car?
These thieves are human beings too, so they have their personal issues and reasons for indulging in the act. One thing for sure I know is that they are not out for joy rides and some of them are professionals too. They buy tools or fabricate tools that will aid their stealing of cars. So, if you leave your car in an easy target area, by the time you are out from where you went, the car will be long gone. So, first things first, is to use your common-sense not to do the following:
• Do not leave your keys in the car with the engine running.
• Never hide the spare key of the car in the car.
• Always make sure that all windows are closed and all doors are locked whenever you are leaving your vehicle.
• Always park your car in a well-lit area and don’t leave anything in your car.
• Look around before parking your car in a public place and see if there is someone you can tip to keep an eye on your car.
• Make sure you remove registration papers from your car, this makes it difficult for the car criminals to sell stolen cars on the black market.
There is no one thing for sure, but in my opinion, if don’t use your common sense, you will keep losing your car.
What Type Of Cars Are Mostly Stolen In Abuja And Why?
Let me make it clear, they steal all types of cars in Nigeria, so don’t let your guards down because your car model was not mentioned – always take caution and mind where you park your car.
However, there are brands of cars that top the list of most stolen cars in Nigeria.
1. The number on the list for car criminals in Abuja is the Toyota. All brand of Toyota are on the top priority list, particularly the types that are in high demand like the Camry, Corolla, Avensis and now Highlander SUV has joined the list.
2. The next on the list is the Honda. The Accord series is the most stolen in the Honda brand. The Accord 96, baby boy, End of Discussion, Discussion continues and Evil spirit(2009/2010/2011 accord). In fact, all Accord series are the high targets.
3. The Next brand is Lexus. The RX series especially, the RX330 and RX 350, both the old and newer models are highly sought after by these criminals.
4. The last on my list is the Mercedes Benz. All C-class series are of interest to car thieves.
These four models mentioned are on high watch by car criminals simply because they know that there is an already existing market for them. Nigerians have tagged these models of cars to have high second-hand value compared to other car brands.
These brands are easy to resell in Nigeria as they are in high demand especially the spare parts. So most times, they are stripped for parts and sold as spare parts rather than sold as functional cars.
Do You Have Ideas Of Places Or Venues Where Car Theft Is High In Abuja?
We all know these things, they are not new and because of the way the Abuja lifestyle is, car criminals just take advantage of it.
1. Residential
There are lots of estates or areas in the town that the houses do not have parking spaces even for just one car. So they park outside the fence of their houses. These people are already at high risk, after the day’s hustle, they get home, park their cars and by the morning they may be looking for their cars.
2. Business, Event Venues, Relaxation Venues and Religious Premises.
A lot of business and religious premises do not have adequate parking lot to carter to the number of cars that come in. A lot of times, people park outside the fence of their offices, Joints, Parks, Gardens, Churches, or Mosque buildings. Some of these places do not arrange for extra security to look after people’s cars. These places therefore pose high risk for car theft.
3. Midnight Crawling
We all know that Abuja has amazing nightlife, so a lot of people like hanging out till late. Some people get unlucky and on their way back home, they get robbed of their cars. Though, this is quite rare in the city, but it happens.
How do you think we can prevent car theft in Abuja or reduce it to the barest minimum?
It is actually a challenging thing, but I will keep saying this: “car security is the business of everybody beginning with the owner of the car, to the security operatives in the house, office environment, business places and places of worship.
As a car security professional, there are few affordable devices that one could invest in to avert car theft or deter car thieves. However, some highly technical inclined thieves can outsmart many of the devices if they have time on their hands.
Some of the vehicle security solutions one can adopt include but are not limited to:
Car Alarms
Car alarms have always been one of the standard steps people deploy to ensure the safety of their vehicles. It has been in use for a long while now. The system relies on motion and pressure sensors and makes distinct sounds to alert the owner from a reasonable distance. The new car alarms are built with stronger and intelligent sensors to discourage carjacking. Some of them, defiantly, the High-end ones come with a backup power source. So even when an intruder disables the main battery it will still sound the alarm.
Install Nethinim Technologies Car Tracking System
It sounds funny now. Well, this is what I have been doing for many years, installing a car tracking system. The tracking system we deploy now is super good and even the owner of the car does not know where it is installed. It is our culture to hide away from everyone so that you will not out of excitement one day, mention the position where it is installed. To fight car theft is to fight car criminals with what they fear the most, A GPS-based tracking device. They all know that a good car tracker can locate them in their hideouts. And that is why, if a car thief comes after you to steal your car, they first ask you if your car is tracked. When one reports a stolen car to the police, the police also ask the person if the car was tracked. My friend, if tracking is not important and efficient, the police and the thief won’t be interested in knowing if your car is tracked or not.
Nethinim Technologies has a very simple belief system; God first, followed by our bespoke installation style and finally, the Nethinim tracking device. With our tracking device, you can shut down your car engine remotely from any part of the World, check the present location of your car at any time you feel like, immobilize your car whenever you want or you feel that the parking lot is not looking safe to park your car.
All these controls can be initiated with your mobile phone or any internet-enabled device. Another beautiful thing about our system is that you can initiate actions through the internet or SMS-based phones. Without the internet on your phone, you can still activate actions. To satisfy the various purposes of having a car tracked, our system can feed you with features like the over-speed alert, movement alert, power cut alert, geofencing triggers, shake alert, hard breaking alert, GPS cut alert and so on. If all cars are tracked, it will certainly reduce the rate at which cars are stolen. Trust me, nobody wants to go to jail. We offer 2 years warranty and we also help you recover your car free of charge.
Wheel Clamps
As funny as it sounds, car wheel clamps are an excellent tool for the security of a car. Especially for those that park outside their house fences. Wheel clamps prevent the car from moving at all. For example, if someone, has gained access to your car keys, with a wheel clamp in the car it immobilizes the vehicle. It is very difficult for them to break through the wheel clamps. Automatically the car is safe. You can always carry the wheel clamp in the boot of your car and use it while parking. It is just that a wheel clamp can be inconvenient to use, but your car is safe. There are different kinds of wheel clamps available in the market today, go for what is convenient and suits your car.
Steering Wheel Lock
With a steering lock, one can be sure that the car is not moving anywhere without your permission. In case an intruder gains access to the inside of your car, it is very difficult for them to drive it anywhere. It is not a completely hassle-free security measure to implement. There are different designs of steering wheel locks present in the market, always go for the ones that are easier for you to use. The good news is that they all stop the steering wheel from moving when in place.
Engine Immobilizers
Engine Immobilizers are not new, they simply cut off the car engine when the wrong car key is used, or the special hidden button is not activated by the owner. Engine Immobilizers include smart keys, kill switches and fuel cut-off devices.
Premises Security
A car can be secured with all manna of car security, the owner of the car, careful all day long, that whole energy may be a waste if the security of the premises is not in place. We have heard about cars stolen at some venues and the tracking devices installed in the car dismantled and left on the ground. Issuing gate passes to cars as they enter the venues was a great option for securing cars some years ago. It is time to start giving out RFID-tagged gate passes in our offices, relaxation venues, Religious places, hospitals and our estates. If a car without the RFID tag gate pass pulls up near the gate, an alarm will be triggered and security will be alerted. As simple as that. I came across a consultant and a professional in RFID technologies, he is the one that actually mentioned RFID technology to me. And he is ready to partner with estates, religious places, relaxation places and hospitals to help build safer car-friendly parking lots.
Have you thought about this, all venues now hang on their fences “cars at owner’s risk” then who is responsible for your cars? So, this means that when I come to do business in your office, I will come with a driver or security man that will then look after my car when I park at your car parking lot. I think people should start reconsidering where they go with their cars.
Call to reach out to an RFID consultant.
Avoid Buying Stolen Cars Or Parts
We all have to be part of this system that wants car theft to end in Nigeria. Let’s all try not to buy stolen cars or parts as it will reduce drastically the rate at which cars are stolen. Before you buy any car from any dealer in Nigeria whether Nigerian used or tokunbo, because you can never be too sure in this part of the world;
• Request for original custom papers
• Request for original vehicle documents
• Search for the car number plate on the FRSC database https://nvis.frsc.gov.ng. This will reveal the identity of the owner including additional information about the car such as the model, trim and color if already registered in Nigeria.
• Confirm name on car documents matches the name on the FRSC database, if it does not match, then it’s either the car documents are fake or the car has been resold more than once.
• And don’t forget to always take a selfie with the car dealer in case of any eventuality.
Get A Comprehensive Insurance For Your Car
We may be careful with our cars, install all forms of security and if eventually it gets stolen. What do we do next after the sad feel? Nothing. If the police cannot find it, it is gone. With the insurance you’re covered, the insurance company may even buy you the same type of car or something a bit lower or make a refund to you in other for you to top up and buy another car.
What Is Your Advice To Young People Who Are Trying To Start Up A Car Security Business?
The market space is large, the business is very juicy but technical and requires diligence. Anyone interested in this line of business, must be ready to face the challenges associated with it. It is also risky and tasking as you’re expected to respond to the police call at any time. So you don’t have that luxury of time like every other business person that engages in buying and selling does.
What Will You Say To Neighborhood Magazine?
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