Vehicle Security - Theft Methods Deployed By Thieves

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Bazza06
Posts: 1991
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 11:00 pm

Post by Bazza06 »

Following a couple of posts I submitted in another thread concerning the current trends and scenarios around vehicle theft I thought I would create a more comprehensive post to provide a general overview of how vehicle thieves operate, the technology they employ, demand for vehicles and some preventive measures we can adopt to help ourselves and others from becoming a victim.

The information provided comes from my own personal experience of investigating vehicle crime. I am not a police officer but head an international team of investigators for a major worldwide company with a fleet of several hundred thousand.The purpose of this post is to bring to your attention, if you didn't already know, the current threat we all face by those intent on stealing our vehicles.

Brief History

The facts are that over the last 15 years theft of vehicles in the UK has dropped significantly. In 2002 there were over 300,000 vehicles stolen and by 2014 that figure had dropped to about 70,000.This can be attributed to the higher standards of security we see installed in our vehicles. Items such as deadlocks, window etching, alarms and immobilisers have helped keep stolen vehicle numbers down.

In the UK we have some of the most stringent testing of vehicle security undertaken by the security research team at Thatcham. Their experience in this area and cooperation with vehicle manufacturers has contributed significantly to the devices installed in vehicles we see today.However, there is an ongoing demand for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles and with the methods deployed to obtain these and the speed at which the thieves can operate the vehicles targeted are rarely seen again.

How Are Vehicles Stolen?

Given that vehicles have greater levels of security how are thieves successful in stealing them?Looking back 10 years and more it was very common to hear of homes being burgled with only the vehicle keys being stolen. The car was often the target of those conducting burglaries and for a variety of reasons such as facilitation of other crimes, cloning and sell on, to dismantle for the sale of parts or to export where demand for certain types of vehicle is high.Once the thief is in possession of the vehicle key removal of the vehicle is generally very easy as most will be parked on the street or a driveway.

Other methods employed to steal a vehicle included: Car-jacking, Pickpocketing of keys in coats either worn by the owner or left draped over a chair in a restaurant or bar, Opportunism which often included people leaving keys in the ignition whilst filling up or paying for fuel, leaving the vehicle open and running to get it warm in the winter whilst the owner finishes having breakfast. Car thieves and thieves in general know the habits of their victims and use this to their advantage.

Whilst vehicles are still stolen by such means there are now more sophisticated methods employed to gain access to any vehicle and particularly those where demand is high.

These methods include:

Signal Jamming - The thief will attempt to jam the signal sent from your key to the vehicle to prevent the doors from being locked. The thief may do so to access the contents of your vehicle or to enter your vehicle to steal it.

OBD Port Intrusion- An electronic device is plugged into the OBD port to code a new key to the vehicle. This method is conducted very quickly (less than a minute) and with the new key programmed the vehicle will respond as if the original key was present.

Signal Relay - Keyless entry vehicles can be vulnerable to theft by use of a signal relay device. The vehicle emits a short range signal which when connected to the key fob allows the doors to be opened and the ignition started. By using a device to carry the signal between the vehicle and the key fob the device fools the vehicle into believing the key is present.

This type of theft generally occurs within a short distance range. Most susceptible are vehicles parked close to the location of the key such as on a driveway near the front door or a window where the key is sitting near to.

Uplift & Removal - This is probably the crudest form of theft and involves the use of another vehicle to drag or uplift the targeted vehicle.

Preventative Measures

Generally speaking thieves will seek the easiest target as their priorities are to obtain the vehicle quickly, quietly and with minimal chance of being caught. We can do a number of things to prevent ourselves from becoming a victim but if a thief is intent on stealing your vehicle they will do their utmost to get it.

Some things to consider to prevent your vehicle from being stolen:

1) Park your vehicle in a well-lit area with regularly moving traffic and people and preferably within a manned secure car park.

2) When parking at home, and if you have a driveway, it is advisable to install a security light with a PIR (Passive Infra-Red) sensor that will detect movement and turn on the light. Good lighting is one of the best means of disturbing a criminal as they don't like to be seen.

3) When at home do not leave your vehicle key where it can be seen through the letterbox or through a window. Not only does this encourage the thief to enter your premises it could aid theft (for keyless models) by the signal relay method or, if the key is in the hallway, theft by 'fishing' the key via the letterbox.

4) You can avoid theft by the signal relay method by putting your key in a metal box as this will stop the signal from emitting outside of the container.

5) If your home has an alarm always set it when you go to bed or when you are away from your house. Do not leave windows, however small, open in rooms that you are not occupying.
Last edited by Bazza06 on Sat Apr 21, 2018 7:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Previously owned:
2022 Macan GTS Gentian Blue
Macan SD - Volcano Grey
Boxster S - Polar Silver

Bazza06
Posts: 1991
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 11:00 pm

Post by Bazza06 »

Continued:

6) Never take your key up to bed with you (no matter how much you love it). If burglars do enter your home they will look in all the obvious places that we leave our keys and take the car and go. You do not want to entice them to enter the areas that you and your family are sleeping. The car isn't worth the potential consequences that confrontation could bring.

7) Never leave your vehicle unlocked or with the key inside. No matter how quick you think you will be paying for your fuel, nipping back inside your home to get your lunch, dropping off the kids at the child-minders etc., opportunist thieves or those that are waiting for the best moment to access your vehicle will strike.

8) Whether it is blistering hot or freezing cold, the latter being most common, never start your car and leave it to cool down or heat up whilst you are away from the vehicle. Thieves know that in freezing cold weather no one likes the idea of coming out to a cold car so they will prowl the streets looking for an opportunity to steal an open running vehicle.

Sadly there have been many cases of car owners trying to stop their vehicles from being taken and have been killed or seriously injured in the process.

9) When participating in social media and forums such as this be conscious of the information you provide about your vehicle and your address. We all know that thieves scour the internet looking for data that can enable them to clone peoples ID for the purpose of accessing credit card and bank accounts and they can do the same if looking for a specific vehicle they wish to steal.

Some things to avoid when posting on social media and forums are pictures or details of your vehicle index number, your location (especially if it's your home), pictures that may show your address or the road you are in or images from your Sat-Nav device that show road and town names. If you are on a forum that asks for your location as part of your profile input the county or leave blank. Never put your town or village if you are in small populated area. It makes you easier to find.

Just be aware that car thieves can be resourceful and will be on the forums of the vehicles they are looking to steal. If you give them information that makes it simple to find where your vehicle is their job is made so much easier.

10) Be observant. Be mindful of those around you when exiting, entering and approaching your vehicle. Trust your gut instinct, if you feel uneasy about a situation move yourself away from it.


What If My Vehicle Is Stolen?

First and foremost inform the police and obtain a crime reference number. If you have a tracker installed inform your provider. They may require the crime reference number before they will initiate the tracker.

Whether you have a tracker or not it is always worthwhile scouring all the streets around the radius of the area in which you leave. I once found a vehicle half a mile from where it was stolen in a heavily populated area. A lot of streets to search but worth the effort.

When thieves steal a vehicle they may, depending on their level of professionalism, park the vehicle soon after the theft and leave it for a couple of days before returning. They do this to test whether a tracker is installed.

If the vehicle is where they left it they assume that no tracker is installed and then move the vehicle to its intended destination.

Some thieves who are stealing vehicles to order will have taken into account that a tracker may be in the vehicle and will install a jammer to prevent the unit from emitting its location. They may also have a container ready to place the vehicle in if it is intended to export the vehicle.


Trackers

I once thought that trackers are all the same but that couldn't have been further from the truth as my experience of them has found.

You will see a whole host of trackers available at varying prices but some are not worth a penny if they fail at the time that you need them to do their job.

Many trackers work via GPS/GSM which can easily be jammed to prevent the signal feeding back its location.

However, if you park the vehicle out of sight of a satellite such as an underground car park, building or container it cannot update its location.

If you are investing in a tracker the easy part is paying for it but when you most need it you are reliant on the service of the provider and their ability to locate and recover your vehicle. That is when you find the true worth of the device / company you have invested in.

Thieves specialising in vehicle crime tend to know their way around the cars they are stealing and will know how to locate a tracker.

The best solution is to fit a hard wired tracker that will provide live updated information and will alert if the unit is tampered with or loses power and a rechargeable standalone unit that is buried somewhere within the vehicle and communicates if the hard wired unit is offline.

The company I use are specialists in SVR (Stolen Vehicle Recovery). When they install trackers they will geo-fence known areas through which vehicles might travel if being stolen and areas where there is intelligence to suggest vehicles are prepared ready for export or examination for devices such as trackers.


Conclusion

This post is not meant to scaremonger or create fear. I created it to bring some awareness of how vehicle thieves operate and to help prevent people from becoming a victim of vehicle crime.

We should be able to enjoy the vehicles we work hard to purchase but there's an element of low life who would rather just take people's property.

If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer.


This video shows a controlled example of how a vehicle can be hacked:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqe6S6m73Zw

This video shows how a vehicle can be unlocked using a potato:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4-3wh3JjqU


Previously owned:
2022 Macan GTS Gentian Blue
Macan SD - Volcano Grey
Boxster S - Polar Silver
CKMAC
Posts: 236
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 10:10 am

Post by CKMAC »

So, which type of tracker has been installed for Macan? Not sure whether it can do a proper job given your detailed explanation above.
CKMAC
Posts: 236
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 10:10 am

Post by CKMAC »

ALA Gap insurance for 5 yrs for a £61k car with level of cover of £50k costs £482. This is similar to 2 yrs subscription fee for the security tracker service.

So would it be better to take out GAP insurance to cover the first 5 yrs?
Jeeves
Posts: 474
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:30 pm

Post by Jeeves »

Excellent information.
Thank you very much for going to the trouble of putting it all together.
I'm sure that as we all digest the information, we - certainly I, will come back with questions.


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Wing Commander
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Location: Wiltshire

Post by Wing Commander »

Thank you for taking the time to compile and share, Bazza. Lots of food for thought there
Simon

Sold: 2016 Rhodium Silver Macan 2.0
Sold: 2013 Platinum Silver 911 (991.1) C2
Sold: 2017 Carmine Red Panamera 4
Mine: 991.2 Carrera T Racing Yellow 06/04/2018
Colonel Klink
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Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2016 2:37 pm

Post by Colonel Klink »

Are you a copper?
Dealer buggered up my SD order. Ended up with a 2009 997.2 C4S....Now life is just one big orgasm.
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Wing Commander
Posts: 19876
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2015 5:43 pm
Location: Wiltshire

Post by Wing Commander »

No, he is not. Read second paragraph of Bazza's first post above
Simon

Sold: 2016 Rhodium Silver Macan 2.0
Sold: 2013 Platinum Silver 911 (991.1) C2
Sold: 2017 Carmine Red Panamera 4
Mine: 991.2 Carrera T Racing Yellow 06/04/2018
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Macandriver
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Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 2:50 pm

Post by Macandriver »

Thanks Bazza06. Fortunately we take some of these precautions already with our current car, but we learned a few things too. Good to know.
Porsche code http://www.porsche-code.com/PHDZWZV6
Petrol S deposit 17 Oct 2015: Lockdown 6 Jun 2016: Collected 14 Oct 2016
Colonel Klink
Posts: 402
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2016 2:37 pm

Post by Colonel Klink »

Sounds like a copper.
Dealer buggered up my SD order. Ended up with a 2009 997.2 C4S....Now life is just one big orgasm.
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