Put Down The Phone

One of the things everyone should know is how to safely approach a vehicle since a lot of attacks take place in parking lots while entering or exiting the vehicle.

First of all, put the cell phone away and in your pocket. You need your attention on your surroundings. While on this subject, once inside the vehicle don't pull out the phone and sit there texting or surfing. It makes you an exposed target. Go home and get your phone out and have at it.

If you had a pair of bodyguards protecting you and moving you back to your vehicle, one would be sticking close to you and the other would be doing the following procedure.

He would locate your car and then do a visual inspection of the cars around it which would reach back to a perimeter of roughly forty or fifty feet from your car.

Any SUVs or vans would set off warning signals because these are some of kidnappers and hit-mens favorite vehicles. If any were in the immediate vicinity, they would need to be cleared, that is, visually inspected to be sure there was no one hiding in them.

Another red flag would go off if these vehicles or any other in the vicinity had their windows blacked out to the point that you can't see into them. This usually doesn't happen by accident, and if someone doesn't want to be seen it's either because they are up to something no good or Law Enforcement doing surveillance. Either way, your point bodyguard would want to know what was in it.

Next he would walk around the cars that formed a perimeter around yours to see if anyone was hiding underneath any of them, or concealing themselves in one of them.

After that he would go to your vehicle and make sure no one was inside. Then, he would give the green light for his partner to escort you to the car.

For practical purposes, most people will only need to perform the last part and visually check the cars which are around yours for any suspicious persons. If you find something suspicious, do not attempt to address the problem yourself, get away quickly and call the proper authorities.

One thing that should really set off your alarms is if you find a van parked next to your drivers side door with the sliding side door facing your entrance. This is a tactic used in abductions, they wait for you to turn your back and enter your car. They slide the door open and snatch you into the van.

If you find yourself facing this dilemma, enter your car from the passenger side so that you can keep the van in your sight at all times.

If you're thinking that all this sounds a little paranoid, you are correct. However, that is what bodyguards are paid to be. You don't have to take it to extreme levels in your personal life, just be aware of your surroundings. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.