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www.mybaycity.com January 16, 2016
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The new high-tech crime wave is a blow as improved car security.

CYBER CAR THIEVES: Are Keyless Entry Auto Models Vulnerable?

January 16, 2016       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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I pulled into a parking lot in downtown Bay City a few days ago.

Nothing too exciting, but that mundane event was to create a mystery that we won't soon forget.

Another vehicle -- seems to me it was a truck -- quickly drew up next to me.

I took scant notice of the fact that the passenger in the truck rolled the window down as soon as it came to a stop.

I couldn't tell you if the person was male or female. No alarm bells went off in my mind even though it was somewhat strange that the window was being rolled down rather than up.

But I did notice that out of the corner of my eye, however paying no more than passing attention to it.

My wife and I got out of the car, having decided to leave her purse in the vehicle rather than take it in a busy place where we were going to eat.

I clicked the remote keyfob to lock the car doors while walking away without another thought, never checking to see what the people in the truck were doing.

When the evening ended, we returned to the car and were surprised: the purse was nowhere to be found.

Baffled, we retraced our actions and thought: maybe we took the purse inside. We searched the restaurant, my wife thinking perhaps she had hung the purse on the back of her chair when she had draped her coat there. Nope! No purse anywhere.

Late at night, I returned to the restaurant and an employee helped me got through the bathroom and the dining room. Zilch!

After contemplating dumpster diving, with the idea that perhaps the purse was put in the trash inside and deposited in the dumpster outside, and rejecting that idea as too radical -- those bags of trash would have made a messy ending to the night for me. I drove back home in a daze.

The Bay City Police Department was consulted and an officer checked with the restaurant manager. Nothing turned up. When my wife came in she was not carrying a purse, people who had been at the next table confirmed.

Now, the plot thickens -- this is really mysterious we thought, racking our brains to reconstruct that night. All to no avail.

Friends have had cellphones stolen out of cars parked in their driveways they were sure they locked. How could a theft occur from a locked car?

Then I came across this article from the London Daily Mail posted online. Is this the "aha" moment when somebody should shout "bingo!???" or "eureka!?"

Here is the text of the British article:

"Police are urging motorists to search out their old-fashioned crook locks after modern car security systems have become an easy target for thieves.

"Organized gangs who steal luxury models to order are thought to be behind an increase in car thefts, having mastered how to get around high-tech security devices.

"They can trick the 'keyless' ignition systems found in top-end cars with blank microchips that can be reprogrammed to start the engine. Others use 'jammers' to stop cars locking when drivers press their remote keys after parking."

Scotland Yard advised readers of the Daily Mail: "In terms of the key cloning method, consider additional security both electronic and physical. Make sure your car is left in a well-lit area; ensure your car is locked when leaving it by checking a door; consider a steering lock or garaging your vehicle; avoid reliance on the manufacturer?s fitted electronic security and locks; consider lock shields and marking schemes as a deterrent; consider purchasing a tracking device.

"The new high-tech crime wave is a blow as improved car security has been seen as one of the reasons behind falling crime rates over the past twenty years.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726959/Dig-steering-locks-drivers-urged-car-thieves-high-tech-Organised-gangs-stealing-luxury-models-order-thought-rise-thefts.html#ixzz3xP5sIRLh Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Another way thieves work is to tape record the sound from your keyless entry fob when you click it. Then, they can play the recording and open your car as quick as you can say "Jack Robinson." or, in Irish parlance "Bob's your uncle."

Is this what happened to me and caused the loss of my wife's purse?

Perhaps these thieves weren't interested in taking a car, that would be something that might occur in bigger cities. Maybe they were just petty thieves seeking cash, perhaps for a quick fix.

After all, besides all my wife's credit cards, checkbook, driver's license, etc., there was a bunch of keys, including a duplicate remote key to the 2014 Ford Fusion we drive. They could easily have just sped off in the vehicle.

That was the worst part of this cautionary tale. Having to quickly cancel all credit cards, close bank accounts, get a duplicate driver's license, etc., etc. There was just a small bill in the purse, but remote key is worth $250 or more alone.

Maybe they threw the purse in the river where it never would be found? Or in a farm ditch somewhere? That was the cruelest cut; for a lousy $10 bucks these cyber brigands caused us huge problems, and headaches.

A few days ago I would have said this couldn't happen to us here in Bay City.

But it can happen, and it did. So be on your guard folks!

###

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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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