Car Theft - Keyless Car Crime

Abel Tasman

Abel Tasman

Well-known member
A couple of months ago I had my car stolen from outside where I live overnight. To cut a long story short I was the victim of a keyless car crime - the b***ds who took my car were able to intercept the signal from my fob (which I hadn’t stored in a faraday pouch or box) and were able to open the car and drive it away.

Police did a perfunctory search but within 2 days told me they feared it had gone like many others have round here. I never recovered it and am still going through a painful process of claiming the insurance for my loss. I am going to get far less than the real value I placed on my car.

This is in NZ! I read today keyless car crime is up 20% this year in the UK and stolen cars using this method are over 100,000 nationwide this year alone.

It got me thinking about these Freeport’s being set up. Surely easy conduits to ship off stolen vehicles by the thousands to the continent never to be heard of again. Worrying times but do beseech anybody with a keyless car to store their keys in a faraday type protector. It will reduce the risk of you being a victim like me. They only cost a fiver on Amazon
 
I use a Faraday pouch but read recently that some thieves now operating a new technique.
They sit in a car park and intersect the signal as car is being locked or opened. They then have a copy of key to use at their leisure. Worrying.

Think we'll have to revert back to a good old fashioned but higher security physical key.
 
Northerner said:
I use a Faraday pouch but read recently that some thieves now operating a new technique.
They sit in a car park and intersect the signal as car is being locked or opened. They then have a copy of key to use at their leisure. Worrying.

Think we'll have to revert back to a good old fashioned but higher security physical key.
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Yes. when I get the insurance my first question to any car dealer will be can I have a car that opens manually please.
 
Blimey that is a worrying trend AT.

Normally we are quite a way behind the others, see our current ‘on trend’ ran raiding problems
 
Questions I have. Who manufactures these kits that allow radio waves to be copied and used this way - or is that a naive question. A number of years ago I was astonished to read that the old electronic retailer Tandy were fined heavily for selling gadgets OTC that cloned credit and debit cards!

If so many cars are being shipped to the continent what kind of checks on containers do we have in our ports?

Keyless car theft: everything you need to know

In this guide, we go over how keyless car systems work, which cars are the most vulnerable and some tips to protect yourself from keyless theft
heycar.co.uk heycar.co.uk
 
Its shocking how easily these new cars are stolen. Its not just the keyless ones but also they simply break a window and plug into the OBD port (next to drivers window) and drive off on 2mins.

I have a MK8 Fiesta ST (midlife crisis lol). These are apparently one of the most stolen cars in Britain. You Google it and you'd not want to buy one. I simply don't understand how Ford are not doing more about it.

My insurance company said I needed an extra 'layer' of security to bring the price down. So I paid £250 of a Viper immobiliser to be fitted. It's Thatcham cat 2 and it removes keyless and OBD theft as you need the keyfob to start. You'd think such things would already incorporated into the security.

Faraday cases work as a minimum low cost option. Also steering wheel locks like in the 90s. A disklock is best as covers the whole wheel. They apparently just cut the streering wheel if you use a bar type one. You can also 'relocate' your OBD to somewhere else in the car via cheap eBay wiring lumes.

The rise in after market alarms has gone through the roof. If I had a mega expensive car I'd definitely invest in a £600-800 pound alarm and immobiliser system. They also prevent car jacking as a seperate fob will make the car stop after 100 or so yards once it loses connection to the fob.

You can see how much I've read up on it after buying a 'hot hatch' that's easy to steal😂.
 
When did we become so lazy that keyless cars became a thing? Is it that big a deal to put a key in the door/ignition and turn it? Does it provide a solution that I'm not aware off (other than not having to worry about the key snapping)?
 
Car crime will increase with rise in the value of car,s think of all the valuable metals and electronics in an electric car and many cost over £40k to buy new both Electric and ICE.

Parking in a garage will help with security if people are worried.

Some people leave their car keys near the front door where they can be hooked through a letter box quietly when everyone is a sleep.
 
Where we live this keyless entry theft was been absolutely rife. Audi's, Mercs, BMWs, high end cars disappearing of drives frequently.

Now, it's changed where scrotes just break into the house, keys, out. No rummaging around straight in and out.

So apart from a Faraday Pouch, very good locks and and house alarm is needed.
 
h_m_boro said:
Where we live this keyless entry theft was been absolutely rife. Audi's, Mercs, BMWs, high end cars disappearing of drives frequently.

Now, it's changed where scrotes just break into the house, keys, out. No rummaging around straight in and out.

So apart from a Faraday Pouch, very good locks and and house alarm is needed.
Click to expand...

While we're talking about car keys, I've lost one of mine (well my wife has) and just been quoted £1600 for a replacement :rolleyes::oops::confused:
 
Abel Tasman said:
It got me thinking about these Freeport’s being set up. Surely easy conduits to ship off stolen vehicles by the thousands to the continent never to be heard of again. Worrying times but do beseech anybody with a keyless car to store their keys in a faraday type protector. It will reduce the risk of you being a victim like me. They only cost a fiver on Amazon
Click to expand...
I don't know whether the freeport helps car thieves or not. What I am sure of is that very few cars that are stolen in the UK end up abroad, except maybe in Ireland. There are very few buyers for right hand drive cars in Europe, unless they are very, very high end like old Bentleys or Daimlers. And the chance of someone who can afford a car like that buying it without all the provenance is nil.

The majority of cars stolen in the UK stay in the UK, on a license plate that is from a similar car deemed beyond economic service or repair.
 
Soutra said:
I don't know whether the freeport helps car thieves or not. What I am sure of is that very few cars that are stolen in the UK end up abroad, except maybe in Ireland. There are very few buyers for right hand drive cars in Europe, unless they are very, very high end like old Bentleys or Daimlers. And the chance of someone who can afford a car like that buying it without all the provenance is nil.

The majority of cars stolen in the UK stay in the UK, on a license plate that is from a similar car deemed beyond economic service or repair.
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Lot of them (high end) go to Cyprus and UAE? which are still right hand drive. And a lot are chopped up for parts, on eBay before the coppers turn up
 
It's mad that cars which are so high tech don't require a pin to unlock, voice recognition, or even link to the phone, where they can be unlocked with face i.d etc.

I think it's because they want the cars to be stolen, effectively so they can sell more. They act like they're doing enough, but it is just an act.
 
Keyless thefts first emerged around 10 years ago and the car industry did next to nothing to combat it, obviously due to costs.

It's still relatively rare, but not rare enough for the car industry to do pretty much nothing to address.
 
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