“Get away from my car right now!,” the Honda Element owner shouted.
If you’re worried about a possible catalytic converter theft and haven’t installed cameras near where you park, this Ring camera owner’s experience might be the push you need.
The Ring Doorbell company shared a customer video from Elizabeth, a Honda Element owner, showing how effective their cameras were in helping Elizabeth thwart a catalytic converter thief in action on their property.
Check out the video for yourself below.
It goes without saying but for the past several years, with precious metals rising in price, especially the ones particularly found in catalytic converters, thefts of these cats have risen proportionally.
Certain cars, particularly trucks and Honda Elements where the cats are easy to access or Toyota Priuses where the cats have a high concentration of catalytic material, are more often targeted.
Because it takes less than a minute to steal a catalytic converter, despite the presence of cameras, thieves, like the ones in the video, often count on footage reaching the owners too late to make any difference.
What these thieves didn’t know is this new crop of smart cameras, like the Ring one Elizabeth has, not only has real time notifications, because they’re internet connected, camera owners have two-way talk capability.
We can hear Elizabeth yell at the catalytic converter thieves to scram ASAP or she’s, “Calling the police.”
My guess is, because they were in a U-Haul, when Elizabeth eventually called the police if they continued their thievery, it would be easy for police to spot and apprehend them.
Apparently, that was a chance they weren’t willing to take.
That Ring Camera, $199.99 on Amazon, paid for itself.
Depending on where you live, new cats for a Honda Element can cost owners upwards of $1,400.
And if $200 makes you cringe, there are cheaper options with similar capabilities, like this Blink outdoor camera for half the price, that might pique your interest.
