This is a 4 minute video with current information about auto theft with a comparison of traditional security devices & a new solution. Its worth a gander if you are just learning about theft, looking for something for your car, or if you are currently an installer with tired hands and a sore back.
We’ve been trying to tell people about this for years and now a story breaks in Albuquerque from NBC4 KOB-TV. Every day thousands of consumers hit the streets for their local car dealership to buy that new car. Dealerships very often have other aftermatket options for all kinds of drivers. Options for pre-paid vehicle maintenance, extended warranties, GAP, and security. Every day, many buyers turndown the available security options, and instead, pledge to rely on the standard factory anti-theft. Factory anti-theft as extremely vulnerable to a number of bypass measures. Essentially, it turns your vehicle into a beacon looking for your car key. Thieves are scanning vehicles for this technology and bypassing it. Our research indicates that the police cannot trace these scanners. A good vehicle immobilizer (not alarm, but immobilizer) will reverse the factory process and put the receiver in the vehicle and the transmitter on your keychain. It means having a little more on your keychain, but also picking up your car right where you left it. Enjoy the article.
Thieves find way around car security feature
By: Eyewitness News 4
Posted at: 09/20/2008 06:49:39 AM
It’s a convenience most modern cars have, but police say thieves have found a way to exploit the feature to steal your car.
The keyless remote has made it a lot easier to lock and unlock car doors at the press of a button. But their popularity has caught the attention of car thieves, who now have their own high tech way to take advantage.
Criminals are now hiding near cars with a device that can pick up the radio frequency sent between the keyless remote and the car.
Police say statistics on this theft method are hard to measure because thieves don’t have break in to the car.
”It is very difficult for us to put our finger on which car was stolen by using these methods, versus any other,” Detective Bill Webb of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office’s auto theft unit said.
Because the Albuquerque metro area ranks seventh worst in the country for auto theft, Webb says keyless remote thefts are likely already happening here.
Police say criminals are targeting expensive vehicles because the equipment needed for the high-tech theft is also expensive.
“You have to have a radio receiver, you have to have it plugged into your computer, you have to know how to program all that to decipher the frequencies to operate the vehicle,” Webb said.
While this method of car theft may be news to you, some car makers are already working on ways to prevent it.
“A lot of European manufacturers will scramble the code, every time they use the remote entry or remote ignition it will scramble the code,” Webb said.
One way to keep your car safe: Lock the door manually, not with the remote.
Also VIN etching, in which a car’s identification number is placed on the vehicle’s windows, is another deterrent, police say.
This article came across our feed from the local CBS news channel in San Diego. Although the statistics are local, the risk factor applies nationwide. Shaved keys are an easy way to steal cars. They are also easy to defend against with a vehicle immobilizer. Check out the article:
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How To Protect Your Car From “Shaved Keys”
Last Updated:
09-16-08 at 7:28PM
According to a recent survey, a vehicle is stolen ever 26 seconds in the United States. But one type of car is stolen more than any other, using what are called “shaved keys”. Protect your vehicle from one of the oldest car theft tricks.
A shaved key can fool an ignition switch, especially on older model Japanese cars.
“A lot of times they use those vehicles for short-term criminal activities,” San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Task Force Capt. Lisa Wrobel said.
Wrobel is the commander of the county’s auto theft task force, a 10-agency undercover operation trying to protect older model Honda Civics, Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys, last year’s top three most stolen cars, often swiped using shaved keys.
“It’s a key that is worn down on the sides, and it can fit into the lock without having to be the existing exact cut,” Wrobel said.
The best way to protect your car is to invest in a steering wheel lock, like The Club. Also, the simple stuff works, such as locking your doors, never leaving your car running unattended, and installing a kill switch.
“They are very economical, and when somebody gets in there and breaks into your vehicle, they can’t get the car started,” Wrobel said.
Even when a shaved key turns your ignition, with a kill switch, your car stays put.
“The crooks that we end up arresting from the task force, when we interview them, one of the things they say is if you try to make it a little more difficult for them to get in those vehicles, they are going to go on to something else,” Wrobel said.
Car theft detectives say getting the word out to protect your car seems to be working. So far this year, 2,000 fewer cars have been stolen compared to last year – a 15 percent drop.
According to the auto theft task force, most stolen cars are either shipped out of the country or stripped for parts.
Arizona Auto Theft Statistics
• 1 car is stolen every 9.48 seconds in Arizona
• Nationally, 1 car is stolen every 25.5 seconds
• Maricopa County reported 54,849 cars were reported stolen in 2006
• Greater Phoenix reported 39,535 cars stolen in 2006 and 34,182 in 2007
• Tuscon reported 8,508 cares stolen in 2006 and 7,781 in 2007
• AZ felony prosecutions = 2,650 in 2006
This is a great clip and we have no idea where it came from; just that it landed in our inbox a couple of days ago. Enjoy. It is a great laugh.
Sometimes companies get caught up over engineering and over thinking solutions to a problem when there is a simple, better answer. Encore Dealer Services strives to find and provide the simple, better answers for car security.
The top ten cities for Car Theft are:
1. Modesto (California)
2. Las Vegas/Paradise (Nevada)
3. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos (California)
4. Stockton (California)
5. San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont (California)
6. Laredo (Texas)
7. Albuquerque (New Mexico)
8. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale (Arizona)
9. Yakima (Washington)
10. Tucson (Arizona)
These cities are either not far from a border or sea port making it easy for thieves to get the vehicles out of the US. They are usually chopped down and sold for parts.
An electronics wizard has invented a new vehicle security device called “Block & Track”. What’s amazing is that Morris Mbetsa is only 18, and taught himself about electronics. The device uses a cell phone to send codes to allow or disable the vehicle’s ignition and track it.
The Kenya Television Network carried this story about him.
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