Last week, two of my friends became victims of a group of snatchers along EDSA. Friend #1 was able to retrieve his wallet because he felt it being taken out from his pants pocket and began beating the men around him with his umbrella. Friend #2 was not so lucky. He only noticed that his phone was gone when he sat on the bus. Both were told by a bystander that the snatcher already rode another bus. We believe that it is highly probable that the technique of the group consist of a person hugging your leg to distract you, a person who actually picks your pocket, the person who tells you that the snatcher already ran away, and 1 or more person who is on the lookout.
I was with Friend #1 at the time of the incident. When the adrenaline finally slowed down he told me he realized that he is lucky the robbers did not hurt him. We hear of people who were stabbed or gunned down to death because they would not give up their wallet or cellphones; or the victims fought back. I understand why some would fight back. The money in their wallet is probably the only money they have and so they feel the great need to protect it. But what can a student or an employee coming home from a weary day at school or work do if they are up against armed men? And going to the police to report a stolen wallet or cellphone seems futile because the robbers can sell your cellphone faster than a police planning their move to locate your valuable. Such is the dilemma of commuters.
With this in mind, I thought, what if there is a way to know that any of your valuable was taken away from you but at the same time, keeps you safe from harm? I call it the BEEPO.
The BEEPO is a combination of the word beep and point. It is a device that, from the name itself, beeps and points. Think Store-Security-Tag-meets-GPS. This is how it will work:
1. The basic BEEPO set consists of 2 tags. Tag 1 is the device stuck to your body, placed in your bag or anywhere in your person where it is safe. Tag 2 is the device that you stick or place in the valuable that you want to protect (i.e. cellphone, wallet, iPad).
2. You will activate the BEEPO using Tag 1. You can set the type and volume of the alarm tone; the distance by which you want to be notified (how far should your valuable be from you before the alarm sets off); and the on-off button for the alarm. It also has a port for connecting to your computer.
3. Once activated, the BEEPO is now ready for use. When your wallet or cellphone is taken from you to a distance that you have set, Tag 2 will send off an alarm (beep). When you hear the alarm, you and the other commuters around you will know who has your valuable (point). This will make the robber drop your valuable and run or run away with it. Whether s/he drops it or run away with it, the people will know who s/he is and so you have witnesses.
4. In cases where the environment is noisy and so you cannot hear the alarm, the BEEPO also serves as a GPS locator. Connect Tag 1 to your computer and you will know your phone's location. You can now report it to the police so they can retrieve it for you. (Some phones now have GPS locator as part of the security feature.)
The BEEPO will also be available in bigger sets (more than 2 tags) for those who would like to protect more than one valuable (i.e. both cellphone and wallet). In such a case, Tag 1 will just have more buttons and settings to accommodate the additional tags. 4
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