Money stolen from my car last night. (long story) Any good boobytrap ideas?

[bizmark]

I live on the edge of a bad neighborhood in Chicago. I own a POS '88 Toyota Celica, with tons of rust and stuff, this is NOT the kind of car one would target for a theft. I park behind my 3-flat building. There's a small, crappy parking lot there, with a fence on 3 sides (fairly permeable in places, though) and a driveway along the side of the building leading to the street.

So I had taken one of my roommates to run an errand yesterday evening, and I took my wallet b/c it has my driver's license in it. I don't like driving w/ my wallet in my pocket, so I usually place it in the console between the two front seats. I accidentally forgot my wallet in the car overnight, but I'm sure that it was in the console, which was closed. I'm usually pretty good about locking the doors, but of course there's a chance that I forgot.

So when I realized this morning that I had left my wallet in my car, I went down to retreive it, and the front door was slightly ajar and my wallet was laying on the seat with all of the money taken out of it, and other stuff that I had kept in the console was strewn about on the seat as well. I had also kept spare change in the console, and all of it was gone too. There were some other items in the car that had some value (probably like 10-15 dollars), but it didn't look like they were touched. The aftermarket Kenwood tape deck (that I wouldn't mind if it was stolen, just so I would have an excuse to buy a CD player) wasn't touched.... it's detachable-face, but I leave the face attached. I had about $80 in cash in my wallet... that was supposed to last me until my next paycheck On the bright side, all of my credit cards, ID's, etc. (even a CTA card which possibly has some value, although I'm sure it's not more than a few dollars) are still in there, and I don't think that they were messed with, b/c 1) they were still in the correct order and 2) some small bits like ticket stubs were still in there, and they would have fallen out if the cards had been taken out. I'm not particularly worried about credit-card-number theft, but I'll look over my next few statements closely.

Anyway, needless to say, I'm fvcking pissed off!! :|:|:| and any pain that I can inflict on the fvcktard that did this would be great. Since this happened on the ONE NIGHT that I HAPPENED to leave my wallet in my car (and possibly left the door unlocked -- I didn't see any signs of forced entry), I think that it may be the case that someone's regularly checking my car or the parking lot for open doors etc. In which case, I want to find him and make his sorry ass pay. Unfortunately, Illinois isn't Texas, and I can't just shoot him like I would be able to do back home.

So are there any good (and cheap) ideas for booby-trapping my car somehow? I'm thinking maybe running a speaker wire from the battery contacts to an inside location, with a switch hidden so that I can turn it off. Would the 12V from a battery do any serious damage to a person, even enough to numb their hand or something? Are there any chemicals or other substances that I could use? One of my roommates suggested using powdered sodium or another volatile substance, which would react with the moisture on a person's skin and cause irritation and/or other damage. Any other suggestions?

I'm also thinking of setting up a webcam pointed to the parking lot to observe for a few days, but I'd have to find some software that would respond to movement to start recording.

 

[Brutuskend]

Yes, but you would go Directly to JAIL if you used ANY of them.

I learned a few by osmosis from the V.C.

 

[Spoooon]

I think you would get in trouble if you booby trapped your car. And then there's always the chance that you or a passenger accidently triggers it.

 

[Turin39789]

rattlesnakes

 

[MichaelD]

You live in the same kind of run-down, crackhead-infested neighborhood that I grew up in. It's a miracle I made it out of the Bronx alive. It's all your fault and here's what happened.

1. You left the car door open
2. Every night, for the past 6 years, the same group of crackheads, horse addicts and insane homeless people have pulled on every door handle in that parking lot, every single night, come rain, shine, snow or metorite shower.
3. Last night they scored b/c you fcked up

You are now a certified, paranoid person. I check all five of the doors on my vehicle TWICE before walking away from it. People that live in my apt complex think I'm insane. Sometimes for good measure I'll mumble something about the voices as I walk by them...keeps them away from me and my truck.

I'm sorry that you were so careless last night. Be glad you CC were still there. Be glad they didn't light your car on fire for fun...they did that to my brother.

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Yes, but you would go Directly to JAIL if you used ANY of them.

I learned a few by osmosis from the V.C.

So you don't think punji sticks and/or HEP would be a good idea?

 

[Jerboy]

So are there any good (and cheap) ideas for booby-trapping my car somehow? I'm thinking maybe running a speaker wire from the battery contacts to an inside location, with a switch hidden so that I can turn it off. Would the 12V from a battery do any serious damage to a person, even enough to numb their hand or something? Are there any chemicals or other substances that I could use? One of my roommates suggested using powdered sodium or another volatile substance, which would react with the moisture on a person's skin and cause irritation and/or other damage. Any other suggestions?

I'm in total support of scorching out goddamn bums and stealing druggies, but sadly, with the way our law works, you'll be the one in trouble .

If you can get 500W or so of 120V to your vehicle somehow, you should setup a motion detector in your vehicle. Leave the doors unlocked so that when thieves get in, the 500W light lights up the car.

On top of that, have an auxillary switch in glove compartment that triggers xenon strobe and starts a 120dB horn. When you hear the horn, run out there with your gun .

I'm also thinking of setting up a webcam pointed to the parking lot to observe for a few days, but I'd have to find some software that would respond to movement to start recording.

You need a pretty darn good lighting or else you won't be able to identify the moving object. A motion detector switch sounds like good idea.

 

[Brutuskend]

So you don't think punji sticks and/or HEP would be a good idea?

Nhaaa, probably not....

 

[Jerboy]

By the way... thanks for another ranting idea.

I think people breaking into cars deserve cruel booby traps. Time-delayed ultra-intense UV flash is a good one. Basically you put the unit with it's optics facing toward front of your glove compartment. The flash goes in your compartment and you have to put a huge capacitor bank in your trunk. You put some money behind the unit so it's visible to the theif. he'll try to get to it and when time delay goes off, UV flash goes off right in the theif's face effectively "burning out" his eye balls. I'm pretty sure the flash tube could be tuned to the wavelength that is most destructive to eyes.

3,000W magnetron right at their eye level might do as well.
The key is to burn out his eyes beyond repair without brutal destruction to your vehicle.
Anything involving explosion, projectile and such will damage your vehicle.



Exposing them to large dose of x-ray and giving them fatal radio sickness is waaay cool using the generators they use at food processing plants, but cars can't contain gamma ray and the greatest concern is safety of animal and people nearby. I am not sure if there is such thing as 10,000W x-ray tube that fits in the glove compartment either... One could always use Cobalt 60 radio isotope though. (This is so called the peaceful use of nuclear isotope ). Thre are burdens however. Radio isotopes are very hazardous to handle and there will always be some people who'll abuse it.


Say someone breaks into your car. One uses radiation(electrically generated or through nuclear isotope) to "deactivate" the thief.
Do you feel this is a peaceful use of radiation energy or not?


That'll protect your property and put car theives out of business.

 

[Dedpuhl]

Strategically place bouncing Betty's around your car...

 

[fatbaby]

Originally posted by: Jerboy
By the way... thanks for another ranting idea.

I think people breaking into cars deserve cruel booby traps. Time-delayed ultra-intense UV flash is a good one. Basically you put the unit with it's optics facing toward front of your glove compartment. The flash goes in your compartment and you have to put a huge capacitor bank in your trunk. You put some money behind the unit so it's visible to the theif. he'll try to get to it and when time delay goes off, UV flash goes off right in the theif's face effectively "burning out" his eye balls.

That'll protect your property and put car theives out of business

yea but one day that might malfunction and go off on the user!

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
Strategically place bouncing Betty's around your car...

 

[Goldfish]

Leave a second wallet in the car with just a couple dollar bills in it. Just enough to cover all the razor blades glued inside it.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: Jerboy
By the way... thanks for another ranting idea.

I think people breaking into cars deserve cruel booby traps. Time-delayed ultra-intense UV flash is a good one. Basically you put the unit with it's optics facing toward front of your glove compartment. The flash goes in your compartment and you have to put a huge capacitor bank in your trunk. You put some money behind the unit so it's visible to the theif. he'll try to get to it and when time delay goes off, UV flash goes off right in the theif's face effectively "burning out" his eye balls. I'm pretty sure the flash tube could be tuned to the wavelength that is most destructive to eyes.

3,000W magnetron right at their eye level might do as well.
The key is to burn out his eyes beyond repair without brutal destruction to your vehicle.
Anything involving explosion, projectile and such will damage your vehicle.



Exposing them to large dose of x-ray and giving them fatal radio sickness is waaay cool using the generators they use at food processing plants, but cars can't contain gamma ray and the greatest concern is safety of animal and people nearby. I am not sure if there is such thing as 10,000W x-ray tube that fits in the glove compartment either... One could always use Cobalt 60 radio isotope though. (This is so called the peaceful use of nuclear isotope ). Thre are burdens however. Radio isotopes are very hazardous to handle and there will always be some people who'll abuse it.


Say someone breaks into your car. One uses radiation(electrically generated or through nuclear isotope) to "deactivate" the thief.
Do you feel this is a peaceful use of radiation energy or not?


That'll protect your property and put car theives out of business.

dude.. you are sadistic. Sight is precious. Let's say it accidently gets set off on his best friend or girlfriend by accident as well? :Q

 

[ZeroBurn]

you could setup a halon fire extinguisher trap. displaces all the oxygen so you don't do any property damage

maybe have it go off only after they close the door w/out disarming the alarm or if the alarm's been cut. hehe fun thoughts

i wish i could get a security system like that, but i'd rather just get a full car insurance policy and not go to jail. stupid criminal-defending laws.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Guy up here at WedgeWood apartments was worried about someone stealing his amp, which was mounted under the driver's seat of his vehicle. He soldered a bunch of double-edged razor blades to an unbent coat hanger, then wrapped it around the amp. Sure enough, someone tried to steal it one night, and the cops were able to follow the blood trail to the apartment of the perpetrator, and picked him up at the emergency room where he went after determing his hand was too mangled to fix with a Band-Aid.

The car owner has not been charged with anything, and this was almost two years ago now.

 

[EvanGeliSt]

Originally posted by: Jerboy
By the way... thanks for another ranting idea. I think people breaking into cars deserve cruel booby traps. Time-delayed ultra-intense UV flash is a good one. Basically you put the unit with it's optics facing toward front of your glove compartment. The flash goes in your compartment and you have to put a huge capacitor bank in your trunk. You put some money behind the unit so it's visible to the theif. he'll try to get to it and when time delay goes off, UV flash goes off right in the theif's face effectively "burning out" his eye balls. I'm pretty sure the flash tube could be tuned to the wavelength that is most destructive to eyes. 3,000W magnetron right at their eye level might do as well. The key is to burn out his eyes beyond repair without brutal destruction to your vehicle. Anything involving explosion, projectile and such will damage your vehicle. Exposing them to large dose of x-ray and giving them fatal radio sickness is waaay cool using the generators they use at food processing plants, but cars can't contain gamma ray and the greatest concern is safety of animal and people nearby. I am not sure if there is such thing as 10,000W x-ray tube that fits in the glove compartment either... One could always use Cobalt 60 radio isotope though. (This is so called the peaceful use of nuclear isotope ). Thre are burdens however. Radio isotopes are very hazardous to handle and there will always be some people who'll abuse it. Say someone breaks into your car. One uses radiation(electrically generated or through nuclear isotope) to "deactivate" the thief. Do you feel this is a peaceful use of radiation energy or not? That'll protect your property and put car theives out of business.

Ow... that's a real painful punishment man, how about just an ultimate wedgie???

 

[ZeroBurn]

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteve
Guy up here at WedgeWood apartments was worried about someone stealing his amp, which was mounted under the driver's seat of his vehicle. He soldered a bunch of double-edged razor blades to an unbent coat hanger, then wrapped it around the amp. Sure enough, someone tried to steal it one night, and the cops were able to follow the blood trail to the apartment of the perpetrator, and picked him up at the emergency room where he went after determing his hand was too mangled to fix with a Band-Aid.

The car owner has not been charged with anything, and this was almost two years ago now.

BUHAHAHAHAHAHHA !!!

that's classic ! i think i'm going to have to do that.

 

[Jerboy]

Originally posted by: ZeroBurn
you could setup a halon fire extinguisher trap. displaces all the oxygen so you don't do any property damage

maybe have it go off only after they close the door w/out disarming the alarm or if the alarm's been cut. hehe fun thoughts

BAAAAD Idea. Halon is some ten times more destructive to the ozone layer compared to Freon. It's probably not anymore effective than CO2 as an asphyxiant.

Carbon monoxide and cyanide gases are both products of combustion and natural food cycle. Cyanide gas, aka hydrogen cyanide is produced in the wild life.

They're not harmful to the environment unless you release them in tanker loads.

i wish i could get a security system like that, but i'd rather just get a full car insurance policy and not go to jail. stupid criminal-defending laws.

It'd be cool if the law allowed us to totally maim criminals.

 

[hamburglar]

Why not use one of those ink systems, like they do in the store. Make it so it inks their face. I've even heard of this think where you spray uv ink. Its supposedly invisible until you hold it up to black light. That's when you see it. It even stays on for a week.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: hamburglar
Why not use one of those ink systems, like they do in the store. Make it so it inks their face. I've even heard of this think where you spray uv ink. Its supposedly invisible until you hold it up to black light. That's when you see it. It even stays on for a week.

I would want Day-Glo Orange in my system. What point in inking their face if you have to run down the street shining a black light on everyone to find the perp?