Method of unauthorized vehicle movement detection

1. A method of detecting unauthorized vehicle movement, comprising the steps of:

(a) measuring a resting angle of a vehicle using a vehicle sensor;

(b) receiving at the vehicle previously-stored coordinates identifying a vehicle owner's house or place of business;

(c) thereafter, detecting a change in the measured resting angle of the vehicle, and that the vehicle has not returned to the measured resting angle before a predetermined amount of time has passed;

(d) comparing current GPS coordinates of the vehicle with the previously-stored coordinates identifying a vehicle owner's house or place of business in response to detecting the change in the measured resting angle;

(e) determining that the detected change is not authorized when the distance between the current GPS coordinates and the previously-stored coordinates identifying a vehicle owner's house or place of business is greater than a threshold;

(f) sending an alert message based on the determination via the vehicle telematics unit.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of communicating the current GPS coordinates to a call center.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining that the vehicle has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising the step of using an accelerometer to determine that the vehicle has been stationary.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of measuring the resting angle using an inclinometer.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the inclinometer measures the resting angle with respect to an artificial horizon or reference.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (c) further comprises the step of determining that the change in the measured resting angle of the vehicle is greater than a predetermined angular amount.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining whether vehicle movement is authorized based on one or more vehicle variables monitored by the telematics unit.

9. A method of detecting unauthorized vehicle movement, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining that a vehicle has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time;

(b) measuring a resting angle of the vehicle using a vehicle sensor;

(c) monitoring a global positioning system (GPS) location of the vehicle;

(d) monitoring the resting angle of the vehicle and the GPS location of the vehicle using a vehicle telematics unit to determine if the vehicle is moved;

(e) detecting both a change in the resting angle and a change in GPS location based on the monitoring, wherein the change in the resting angle and GPS location is greater than a predetermined threshold;

(f) determining that the change in the resting angle is present for longer than a predetermined amount of time; and

(g) sending an alert message containing a notification of the detected change in the resting angle and the present location of the vehicle via the vehicle telematics unit to a call center or a public safety access point (PSAP) when the vehicle has not returned to the resting angle before the predetermined amount of time has passed.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle sensor further comprises an inclinometer.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of measuring the resting angle using an artificial horizon.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of determining whether vehicle movement is authorized based on one or more vehicle variables monitored by the telematics unit.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the vehicle variables further comprise one or more of: the status of vehicle door locks, the presence of a vehicle key in the surrounding area of the vehicle, activation of the vehicle ignition, or a location of the vehicle.