Some of the break-ins have been captured on surveillance video. There have been multiple cases in California, including one video where a man appears to use a device to open the doors of a black SUV. Moments later the man is seen taking a laptop and $15,000 custom bike from the SUV. The man is then seen driving by — in his own car — and relocking the victim’s doors.
In Jan. 2016, a Georgia woman captured a thief on camera rifling through her locked vehicle, just feet from her door. Investigators believe it’s one of the latest cases of mysterious devices being used to unlock cars.
Our investigative team traveled to California to unlock the high-tech secret crooks are using to get inside your locked car unnoticed.
Samy Kamkar, a nationally-known computer hacker says “Virtually every vehicle is vulnerable to the same type of attacks.”
Action News Jax gave Kamkar the key fob to our rental van. In his computer lab, it took him less than an hour to program the van’s circuit board into a “makeshift” key fob.
The materials to make the device? They can be had for $30.
While Kamkar did not reveal how he programmed the device, he does explain what thieves are targeting.
Kamkar says every time you press the unlock button on your key fob, you send a code to your car to get it to unlock. If you press unlock five times, that’s five different codes. Kamkar says each time you press unlock and your car doesn’t respond, that’s a code a thief can grab and put on their own device to use later.
Experts say thieves are also using equipment to transmit the same frequency a key fob, which then allows them to cycle through thousands of code guesses until they find one that unlocks your doors.
While Kamkar doesn’t share his methods with crooks who constantly ask, he does provide information that car manufacturers can use to stop them.
The good news is, Kamkar says a fix is in the works.
In the meantime, our Crime & Safety Expert Ken Jefferson says don’t tempt thieves by leaving anything of value in your car.
“Out of sight is out of mind,” Jefferson said. “Take it in the office. Take it in your home. Don’t try to lock it in your trunk because that’s not a safe place anymore, because if they can get in your car that easy, they can get info your trunk that easy.”
Kamkar says you can help to protect yourself by taking a simple step. If you hit unlock on your key fob it doesn’t work, Kamkar says you should hit the lock button a few times to make sure your car locks.
Kamkar says that will also help to clear out any unused codes that may have been stolen. Others recommend putting your key fob in the freezer, which prevents thieves from picking up its signal.
For more information on how to keep your car safe go to the National Insurance Crime Bureau: https://www.nicb.org/
Cox Media Group
