There's nothing glamorous about being on the receiving end of a car jacking. There are plenty of Americans living in Naples, Italy and typically those individuals driving BMW's or Mercedes always risked being the victim of a car jacking. If it means anything, many times the car thief didn't really want the car. The car would be extorted for money. For a thousand dollars or more, the car could be found. More or less in good condition minus a few scratches.

But during the time I lived in Italy, car jacking became more dangerous to the owner. A new way of car jacking reared its ugly head: one of the more popular schemes involved a car bumping a driver from behind, and motioning the driver to pull over. Instinctively the yank would stop. Not knowing that a third party would show up and pull the driver from his car and drive off with the vehicle. The stakes of this car jacking technique got higher, as for the first time victims were being physically assaulted. Statistics from the last 5 years reflect the trend is getting worse.

You may wonder what so many Americans are doing in Italy. A good many of them are tourists. And tourists can be played the fool in many ways and easily robbed of their vacation fortunes. But the real victims are the members of the Armed Forces who live in a city - in this case - Naples, for anywhere from two to four years. Word gets around regarding where Americans live. A good car jacking professional with time on his hands can study driving patterns and discover the directions an individual takes to go to work. Americans tend to be creatures of habit, doing the same thing over and over. So it's not too difficult for the car jacking pro to see what intersections are easy stopping points, or remote areas where a car jacking can be pulled off without any notice.

As bad as this is, among many Napolitano youths there is an "honor among thieves." Injuring the victim was never the motive. But an influx of other nationalities - Albanian, Croat and Hungarian to name just a few - had no such honor. The new way of car jacking involved brute force or worse. BMW's and Mercedes - praised among American officers - could be sold for big money in Russia or abroad. A dead victim was of no concern.

You would think the logical anti-car jacking technology would be a car alarm. But for the car alarm to be useful, the car needs to locked and entered. If a driver is jerked from their car than how can an alarm be sounded. So, the best anti-car jacking device seems to be common sense: when you get in the car lock the doors and don't open them for any reason. If someone bumps you from behind; don't stop. Keep a cell phone handy with the local 911 emergency number easily accessible. And if you are stopped by gun-point don't play the hero. Relinquish your vehicle. Better to lose your car and not your life.

"Personal Security" is the latest phrase being bandied about. But by changing the route you take to work every few days and remaining vigilant whether you live overseas or not, you decrease the chance of become a car jacking victim.