Although signal jamming is not a new concept to South Africans, it continues to grow in popularity among criminals, as the technology used becomes more sophisticated and easily accessible.
What is signal jamming?
The increase in incidents where signal jamming devices are used for vehicle theft, is one of the numerous threats that South African motorists face on a daily basis. Any standard GSM and GPS telematics device used to track vehicles may be susceptible to illegal signal jamming by criminals. A signal jammer prevents the telematics device from communicating its position to the vehicle tracking service provider.
Criminals acquire illegal GSM and GPS jamming devices on the black market which are then used in the hijacking of trucks and cars. These devices can be small, hand-held units or large, industrial briefcase-size jamming devices. Certain jamming devices are simply plugged into the vehicle’s cigarette-lighter jack-socket which then blocks all tracking signals. This results in the control centre losing contact with the vehicle, where the tracking system merely shows the last position of the vehicle before the signal was lost.
Many other types of devices are also susceptible to signal jamming including smartphones and remote controls. Criminals gain easy access to valuables left inside vehicles or steal the vehicle itself by using a jamming device to block the signal of the locking remote when a person leaves the car after parking, thinking it is safely locked. This modus operandi has become prevalent at shopping centres. Often thousands of rands worth of valuables are stolen and insurance companies sometimes do not cover these losses.
Matrix mitigates signal jamming with Smart Jamming Detection
Fortunately, with the latest technological solutions, Matrix has been successful in addressing the many techniques criminals use to steal vehicles.
Matrix customers can have peace of mind that, whilst we clearly recognise that there is no fool-proof security device, our systems and services continually prove to be extremely effective against a myriad of threats, including jamming devices.
Should you require additional information, or to enquire about additional value-added services, please contact our Customer Care Department at customercare@matrix.co.za.