If you’ve noticed yourself coming across stories about vehicle theft on the news or even through your own friends and family much more often these days, there’s a very good reason for that.
In recent years, claims regarding vehicle theft have skyrocketed nationwide with the Insurance Council of Australia reporting an extremely high 96% increase since 2015.
Now, if you’ve either fallen victim to vehicle theft yourself or you’re simply anxious about this potentially happening to you in the near future, take a deep breath and read on!
In this article on what to do if your vehicle gets stolen, we’ll outline the growing importance of GPS tracking to protect your car – and walk you through the steps to recover it and prevent theft in the first place.
Set Up Geofences Ahead of Time
While it’s true that vehicle theft is a growing issue throughout Australia, it’s also true that vehicles fitted with a GPS tracker are far more likely to be quickly recovered in comparison to those without.
Because a strong majority of stolen cars are actually recovered within the first 48 hours of being stolen, it goes without saying that your very first step should be to go out and grab a GPS tracker that includes Geofencing as a feature.
In simple terms, Geofencing will allow you to create a perimeter around any physical location on the map. Whether you’re setting this virtual fence around your personal garage or driveway at home, or you’re responsible for protecting an entire fleet of vehicles elsewhere, you’ll receive instant notifications whenever the geofencing tracker either enters or exits the designated area.
As you can imagine, the peace of mind in knowing that you can take immediate action if the worst does happen is worth its weight in gold.
Contact Law Enforcement Immediately
In the event that you do receive a notification that your vehicle has suspiciously left the parameters of your Geofence, you’ll first need to contact the police as soon as humanly possible.
Although having such a valuable possession stolen from you is an admittedly scary experience that would leave the best of us feeling vulnerable or even panicked, remaining calm is paramount to tackling the problem in a thorough and pragmatic fashion.
It bears repeating that the sooner the police have all of the critical information they need including the real-time location of your stolen vehicle, the higher the likelihood that you’ll be able to recover it before it becomes damaged or lost altogether.
Ensure that you have all of your car’s details on hand such as the make, model, year, license plate and colour. Remember to be exhaustive when communicating with the police, and don’t hesitate to tell them about small or seemingly unimportant details such as specific scratch marks and general wear-and-tear!
Rather than simply sharing your car’s current location with the police in your initial report, it’s important to continue to work alongside law enforcement by disclosing all of the relevant tracking data that you have at your disposal.
Don’t Be a Hero!
Now, I know that it’s beyond frustrating to be able to physically see your stolen vehicle’s location without being able to go out there and reclaim it yourself, but don’t be a hero!
At this stage all you can do is sit down, remain calm and simply wait; trust that you’ve given the police enough information to go on. You might imagine that the thieves are just some near-harmless teenagers going for a joyride, but you must always assume the worst in a potentially dangerous situation like this one.
A vehicle is of course a precious possession that might even hold some degree of sentimental value to you, but at the end of the day, it is just an object that can be either repaired or replaced if it comes to it. Your life and physical well-being, on the other hand, are not.
Contact your Car Insurance Provider to Make a Claim
Next, you’re going to want to contact your car insurance provider to report the incident. Although it might be tempting to call it a night and leave this tedious task for tomorrow after the stressful day that you’ve just endured, time is of the essence when it comes to this step too.
First, depending on the nature of your specific policy, reporting the incident in a timely fashion could be the difference between your claim being approved or denied.
Second, most of us aren’t strangers to the unfortunate reality that insurance claims can take quite a while to process and car insurance claims are certainly no exception to this. When you find yourself without a car and without any recourse to temporarily replace it a week from now, you’ll thank your past self for doing the sensible thing and calling right away.
Before you make this call, ensure you have both your police report number and a list of any valuables that might have been in your car at the time of the incident.
Additional Help & Resources
How does GPS surveillance help recover stolen vehicles?
Check out our guide on How GPS Surveillance Works to understand how features like geofencing and real-time tracking speed up vehicle recovery and prevent future thefts.
What’s the best GPS tracker for vehicle security?
For rapid alerts and reliable real-time updates, the PLX5 Tracker offers the perfect balance of simplicity and performance—ideal for both individuals and fleets.
Is GPS tracking legal in Australia?
Yes—but there are strict regulations depending on your state. Visit our GPS Tracking Legislation Guide for everything you need to know before installing a tracking device.
How do I check if someone’s already tracking my car?
Use our detailed tutorial on How to Find a GPS Tracker in Your Car to scan for hidden devices and reclaim your privacy.
Conclusion
When it comes to what to do if your vehicle gets stolen, staying calm and acting quickly with the help of GPS technology can make all the difference.
By preemptively installing a GPS tracking device, familiarising yourself with security features such as Geofencing and history playback whilst adopting a calm and pragmatic approach to recovering your vehicle in the event that it is stolen, you can rest assured knowing that you’ve done everything within your power to protect your personal belongings before disaster strikes.
Whether you’re interested in protecting your personal car or a fleet of vehicles professionally, embracing new technology is proving to be the key difference between swiftly recovering your property before becoming yet another scary statistic.
