Thieves using Bluetooth locator apps to find electronic devices in parked cars

There is a general sense that crime is increasing in the Bay Area, but there is one area where it is reaching epidemic proportions: car burglaries.  

Police agencies across the Bay Area are warning about one sneaky way that burglars are using Bluetooth to find electronic devices, even if they're hidden out of sight.

"We're aware of a trend where thieves are using Bluetooth technology to track down electronic devices that are being left inside cars," said Sgt. Tim Lendman from the Livermore Police Department.

Bluetooth locater apps are normally used for finding lost earbuds or other devices, but thieves are using it for a different purpose.

"A thief would take a Bluetooth scanner, much like this, and walk up towards a vehicle," he said. "And we can see changing signal strength on Bluetooth devices. And by walking around a vehicle, I can often target where that device might be located and its approximate signal strength, to know I'm going to steal from this vehicle, not another vehicle."

The police departments in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Vallejo issued a joint public alert last week about the use of Bluetooth in vehicle break-ins. Luckily, the solution is simple.

Just turn off Bluetooth, or better yet, turn the device off completely because even laptops that are in sleep mode are still giving off a signal.

That may take some getting used to for San Ramon teenagers Justin Koshy and Vishnu Dhavala.

"We always usually have Bluetooth on because most of us have Air Pods, so it's just always on for us," Koshy said. "So, now we're kind of worried about keeping Bluetooth on."

In just the first week of August, there were 240 burglaries reported city-wide and 201 of them were for cars, a 42 percent increase over last year. In some places, having your car broken into has just become a way of life.

"In the suburbs, doesn't happen as often, but in your larger cities, I think they shrug it off," said John Casson, who sometimes works in Oakland for his sales job.

The experts recommend taking electronic devices with you or at least turning them off.