100k Cars Stolen Last Year With Keyless Technology
Home Office data recently released, show there were 101,198 vehicles stolen in England and Wales last year. The data highlighted cars with keyless technology as being the primary target for car thieves.
Whilst improvements in car technology have undoubtedly made life easier for many car owners, hackers have been able to spot new methods of breaking into vehicles using keyless entry.
‘Key hacking’ is where thieves attack a cars built-in system, unlocking a vehicle when the key is nearby, without having to press a button on the fob or insert a key in the lock.
When the vehicle’s key is close enough to the car, it sends a short-range signal that tells the car to unlock, even if it’s in your bag, pocket or inside your house.
Since the introduction of this technology, criminals have found a way to scan for and hack the signal omitted from the key and use it to give them access to some cars. This is also known as ‘relay theft’.
According to the Home Office, more than 72% of vehicles that are stolen are never recovered. So, how can you protect your vehicle against this?
If your vehicle has a keyless entry systems you can take precautions to prevent your vehicle from being stolen, including protective cases where you can keep your keys that can block the signal, preventing it from being cloned, or even switching off the keyless feature on the fob (available on some vehicles).
Tip: Try to avoid storing your keys further away from the front door , the further away from the thieves scanner the better as this could prevent the signal from being captured and cloned.
