AXA warns of SatNav burglary risk

by Richard Kilner

Story link: AXA warns of SatNav burglary risk

Motorists are being warned by AXA that 13 million of them are providing burglars with their home address, and 8 million are risking their house keys as well.

AXA home insurance believes that the rise in burglaries is partly due to SatNavs and is advising motorists to change their ‘home address’ to help reduce related crime.

SatNav ownership has increased from 13% to almost half the adult population over the last five years.

Thirteen million SatNav owners have their home address stored on their device, and 8.5 million motorists also keep their house keys together with their car keys.

Christine Matthews, head of household claims at AXA, has warned that a careless approach to security hands opportunistic criminals easy pickings.

The rapid development of technology has provided other opportunities for criminals, most notably when individuals use social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter to advertise their absence from home, making them a prime target for burglars.