Do Electric Scooters Get Stolen?

Got yourself a new electric scooter and worried about it being stolen? Electric scooters are easy to ride and operate, but if you don’t take the proper security measures, your new scooter might get stolen away from you. You want to always be careful to take the necessary precautions, especially with expensive and useful electronics that you may store outside frequently!

Although electric scooters are difficult to steal (and hard to make a profit on), they’re still stolen sometimes. It’s important to use a strong lock to secure your scooter and to store it in your house when you aren’t using it. You can add a GPS Tracker to find your scooter if it’s ever stolen.

Many of these preventive measures are simple and easy to implement. If you want to know how you can keep your electric scooter from being stolen, you’re in the right place. So, let’s learn all about electric scooter safety and theft!

Do Electric Scooters Get Stolen?

Most thieves don’t steal electric scooters. That’s because it takes too much effort to steal them and there’s barely any profit from it. Even a pricy model like the UNAGI Model One E500 (on Amazon) would probably only have a street value (if stolen) of 10-20% of that. The resale value of an electric scooter is very low, and finding a good buyer can also be difficult.

Another factor is that electric scooter parts just aren’t that expensive. Some e-scooters are in such bad conditions that no sane person would bother to steal with the intention of parting them out because actually repairing used electric scooters is not an activity with a lot of value attached either..

Most of the time, electric scooters have security devices installed on them. You can easily use a GPS transponder to find a stolen electric scooter.

This is one of the reasons why people typically don’t bother to lock their electric scooters. The wheel locks prevent wheel and rim theft. Opening a wheel lock isn’t an easy task, even for professional thieves. 

Some Scooters have Built-In Security Measures

Electric scooters are typically connected to an app where you have to unlock the scooter to be able to use it. Otherwise, if you start trying to use it without going through the app, a built-in alarm will start beeping.

This scares away thieves even in the dead of the night since the alarm will alert anyone nearby that something is wrong. The owner will get informed about it as well. 

However, it’s not like electric scooters are never stolen. Some thieves do manage to steal them and even sell them for profit. On some websites, chargers and replacement controllers for electric scooters are available at very low prices. 

There are cheap hacking kits that let thieves get into electric scooter apps, unlock a scooter, and steal it. As they are lightweight, a thief that knows the trick might steal your electric scooter if you don’t use precautionary and protective measures.

How To Prevent Your Electric Scooter From Being Stolen?

Preventing your electric scooter from being stolen is simple.

With the right locks and different protective measures, you can easily protect your electric scooter from thieves. So, let’s find out how it’s done!

Locks

Locks are the most important thing for preventing your e-scooter from being stolen. You can find tons of easy-to-use locks in the market that will protect your scooter.

Some locks come with a digit combination so you don’t have to always keep a key with you all the time. Moreover, guessing a number code is impossible unless a thief has a way to hack the lock. 

You can get an additional U-lock for the wheels and frame, too. Invest in a high-quality lock that is resistant to any sort of cutting from hacksaws or cutters. A lock alone would be enough to protect your scooter in most cases.

GPS Tracking Devices

Even if your scooter gets stolen, a GPS tracking device will allow you to find it in seconds. The police will be able to catch the thief in no time. Keep the GPS tracking device hidden so that nobody can remove or damage it.

And if you just want to deter thieves, you can consider adding a cheap GPS Tracking sticker. It’s a bit silly, because you won’t actually be able to track the scooter, but a would-be thief may notice the sticker and think twice about stealing your scooter. These fake GPS stickers are a steal on Amazon for the value they might offer.

Keep the Scooter Put Away 

Another good way to keep your electric scooter safe is to park it somewhere hidden so that nobody can steal it. Moreover, don’t park the scooter outside your house.

They’re quite lightweight, so you can easily take your scooter inside. Outdoors, you can park it somewhere with CCTV surveillance so you can see the culprit if it gets stolen. 

Do Rental Electric Scooters Get Stolen?

It’s not that rental scooters are never stolen, but the probability of a thief stealing a rental electric scooter is quite low. There is a higher chance of a personal electric scooter being stolen than a rental one.

The reason is simple: rental electric scooters are mostly in bad condition and have worn-out parts, too. They usually aren’t in the best condition, so thieves can’t make a lot of profit from them.

Moreover, other factors like locks, GPS, and alarms make it quite hard for a thief to steal rental e-scooters successfully. However, the biggest reason remains the same: they just aren’t worth the effort of stealing. 

What Are The Best Locks For Electric Scooters?

The best locks for electric scooters are chain locks, U-locks, and cuffs locks. Locks with digit combinations are the best due to their possible 100,000 combinations of numbers to choose from.

This makes it basically impossible for a thief to crack the code. However, the most important trait for a lock is that it fits your scooter properly.

Moreover, you should know how to secure your scooter in the most protective place to keep it safe. Here are some examples:

• Kryptonite makes some of the best and strongest locks for electric scooters. Options like the New York Lock (on Amazon) are good for securing a scooter to other objects. Its thin shackle makes it easy to use and carry around. 

• Fahgettaboudit (on Amazon) lock is extremely strong and very reliable for preventing your scooter from being stolen. It is reasonably priced and the size is compact and portable.

• Segway Ninebot 5-Digit Combination lock (on Amazon) makes it impossible for any thief to steal your scooter. It’s a durable cable lock and is resistant to cutting or sawing. 

Wrapping Up

So, electric scooter theft can easily be prevented if you spend some money on good locks and use the techniques mentioned above. No matter how hard it might be to steal something, there are always some thieves out there that will try. So, you must always keep an eye on your stuff and take the proper protective measures.