For the year ending October 31, 2002, there were 3,041 acts of piracy world wide. This was an increase of 40 over the previous year. The most dangerous areas remain the coastal waters of Indonesia, Malaysia and Somalia (which is considered particularly dangerous because of kidnappings). Most of the pirates travel is speed boats and are armed with pistols, machetes or AK-47s. These pirates prefer to attack ships close to the coast and basically steal cash and valuables from the crew, as well as anything small enough to take away in their small boats. Smaller ships, like yachts, are sometimes stolen, with the passengers and crew murdered to eliminate witnesses. To prevent this in larger merchant ships, they are equipped with hidden satellite phones that periodically broadcast the ships position to a security organization. If the ship deviates from its assigned course, the owner and local police are notified.