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Man's Car Gets Stolen. Then the Thief Shows Up at His House

"Yes! When I bought my car the dealership told me about this."

Man's Car Gets Stolen.

Photo by: Unsplash.com

Steve Ecker

By: Steve Ecker

Oct 24, 2025 at 10:00am ET

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Nobody ever plans for their car to get stolen, but it does happen. Cars play an essential role for many people, and having one stolen would be a significant loss.

In a viral video that generated over 72,200 views as of this writing, Sarah Kimberly (@carmummy) shares a preventative safety measure you can take in the event that your car is snatched.

Remove Your Address From the GPS

In the TikTok, Kimberly issues an essential car safety tip that should be done promptly.

“Stop setting your home address and other frequent addresses in the address book in your GPS in your car, and I’m gonna tell you why,” Kimberly begins.

Kimberly shares that her friend's car was stolen while he was at work. Turns out, the thief had stolen his keys.

Not only did the thief have access to the vehicle and all of his keys, but he also gained knowledge of the man’s home address because it was saved in the car’s GPS. This was concerning, considering the man's wife and young children were home.

Luckily, the man saw the theft take place and was able to quickly react to the situation. He changed the garage remote, his locks, and every other necessary thing at his house after seeing his car get stolen.

Well, turns out, the thief still turned up at his house ready to steal more. Being proactive about changing the locks and garage code promptly may not only have saved his property, but also kept his family safe.

“Imagine having your car stolen, all of your keys, access to your home address, and not realizing until a couple hours later. Think of everything that could happen in those few hours,” Kimberly says.

“Obviously, nobody plans on having their car stolen, but things like this, removing your home address from your car, is one way to keep your family safe in the event your car is stolen,” she adds.

Additionally, Kimberly suggests not leaving mail or letters with your address in your car in case it is stolen.

“If you prefer safety over convenience, remove your home address from the GPS in your car. Now. Why are you still watching?” she urges.

This Isn’t the Only Time This Has Happened

One user shared a similar story to reaffirm the importance of deleting your home address from your car's GPS.

“100%. My friend dropped her keys at work unknowingly. Someone stole her car. She had her husband's car key on her key ring plus had [their] home address in her GPS. That night they came and stole her husband's car. Thank god they didn't even bother entering her house,” she shared.

Other viewers in the comments section expressed appreciation for the safety tip.

“Wow, that’s something I haven’t even considered, so thanks for the reminder,” one viewer wrote.

Kimberly replied, “Not something most people would consider but pretty easy to delete it.”

Other viewers commented on alternative locations to use instead of your actual home address.

“This!!! When I bought my car the worker at the dealership told me this and [I] saved a street close by and I’m thankful,” one mentioned.

“I always use the address next door and I don't ever have my apartment number in there,” a second shared.

“Is it bad that I have a random house number in my street programmed,” one questioned.

“Program it to say your home is somewhere else like a police station,” a third suggested.

Gallery: Boston Marathon suspects caught with help from GPS inside stolen 2013 Mercedes-Benz ML350

2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class 07.06.2011

100

2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class 07.06.2011

What Should You Do If Your Car Gets Stolen?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 850,000 vehicles were stolen in 2024. That means every 37 seconds, a vehicle is stolen in the United States.

While getting your car stolen may seem unlikely, the math says otherwise. Here are five things to do if it happens to you, according to Experian:

File a police report.
Call your insurance provider.
Contact your lender if you are leasing the car.
Alert your local Department of Motor Vehicles.
Protect your identity.

Additionally, the NHTSA suggested doing the following to help prevent car theft.

First, always take your vehicle keys with you and never leave them in the car unattended.

Next, when you park, be sure to roll up all the windows and lock the doors. It’s best to park in well-lit areas when possible and avoid parking in dark areas.

Lastly, never leave valuables in the door, especially if they can easily be seen from the outside of the car.

What do you think?

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Motor1 has contacted Sarah Kimberly via Instagram direct message and TikTok direct message. This story will be updated if she replies.

Update Oct. 24, 2025: In a direct message to Motor1, Kimberly said, "With the prevalence of car theft in today’s society we must ensure no personal items/ mail/ details exposing our home address are inside your car. Car safety doesn’t just mean putting seatbelts on and driving safely."

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