Vehicle thefts are becoming easier and simpler. Certain technologies allow them to leave with your car in no time and without breaking anything. Unless you use a biscuit tin…
Leave his car keys on the entryway cabinet when coming home can be used by car thieves. Because today, they no longer need to break a window or force a lock. With cars equipped with a keyless entry system, certain techniques allow you to leave with a vehicle in just a few seconds, and without effort. In France, car thefts are increasing and recent models are particularly targeted, but larger engines are not the only ones affected. Much more common cars also disappear regularly.
Their interest? They often end up dismantled and their parts are resold. For specialized networks, it’s a way to make money quickly. Christopher Thomas knows these methods well. As reported by the site Expressthis investigator from the private detective firm UK Private Investigators worked on numerous stolen vehicle cases. To better understand how the criminals go about it, he even went to talk with some of them. His goal? Know what really works to better advise your clients.
HASThroughout his investigations, he discovered sometimes surprising techniques. “I’ve worked with car thieves to understand their methods and better advise my clients on how to protect their vehicles. Some of the techniques are truly amazing.” One of them is to amplify the signal between the key and the car. Concretely, on cars equipped with a hands-free key, the vehicle unlocks automatically when the key is nearby and authorizes starting. Thieves take advantage of this operation. They use an amplifier that picks up the signal emitted by the key from outside the house and extends it to the car. The vehicle then thinks that its owner is right next to it and it opens. But a technique would make it possible to counter this mechanism.
The private detective actually advises having a metal cookie tin: “It may sound strange, but putting your keys in a metal cookie jar prevents the key from sending its signal back to the car, even if someone tries to amplify it. To check that your box works, ask someone to call you, put your phone in the box, and close it. If the call is disconnected, it will work with your car keys too.”
The reason is quite simple. A metal box acts like a Faraday cage. It blocks, or at least very significantly weakens, the waves emitted by the key. The thieves then no longer have a signal to recover to transmit it to the car. Without this signal, it is impossible to make him believe that the key is right next to it. So now is the time to sort through your cupboards or borrow your grandparents’ favorite box.
