I received an email today from our local police warning about a spate of car crimes.
Here is part of what it was about just to warn others.
Do you own a Keyless Entry Vehicle. Beware of increasing crime trend.
" Police Rural Crime Team are reminding the owners of vehicle manufacture with keyless entry and ignition systems, to ensure that the car key fob is kept somewhere safe when at home or work. Please keep them away from window sills and leaving in the back of any door lock. Ideally if you can, in a safe secure faraday pouch to prevent devices being used to scan remotely for your Vehicle keys. We are seeing a rise in the theft of ANY class of Motor Vehicle using this method, not just high performance vehicles as previously seen.
Please report any suspicious activity to us. If happening at the time⊠999 anything else call 101 or report online."
Do they then hotwire the car or just steal things from inside? I have seen a car theft recently not of the car but someone breaking in and stealing whatever gadget someone had left in there. But they used the simple method of breaking a window. I think if they do the keyless theft itâs going to be for high end motors. We have had a spate of catalytic convertor thefts, luckily not on our street but on the other side of town. Apparently these are valuable for the metal or something.
We usually leave our car in the garage for obvious reasons, but whether in or out we also use a Krooklok as an additional deterrent. Obviously, donât leave anything on show inside and, if outside, leave in a well-lit area if possible.
Ours are in the garage with alarms on the garage doors.so they would also need a fob to get into the garage. Not only that but have security lights on sensors. Even then Teazle will start barking like mad. 2 doors down we have a police dog handler and the police vehicle outside
Youâd think they should be safe enough locked in a garage, but the people who have to leave their car on the road all night would be easy targets I would think.
So much so for advanced technology ey!
Weâve had quite a few police warnings about the catalytic converters being taken as well, even when the car is parked on the driveway. Apparently they have Platinum, Rhodium and something else valuable in them.
I actually had this feature disabled. When I use keyless I was always wondering did I lock it? What if the unlock button pushes accidentally in my pocket? So I just use my key
Thank you for that Mups, I wasnât sure whether I was doing the right thing or being pedantic! You will be able to correct things now that you have moved up a notch to level 3 ⊠welcome to the club!
Yes, I can well understand that about door locking, Danny.
I often despair of so-called advances in technology.
Will you please explain something to me? What is the point of keyless cars? Is it really that difficult to carry a car key? Is there supposed to be an advantage in keyless, or is perhaps a case of more âboys toys?â
As a society we are constantly seeking to improve things whether they need it or not. In doing so we screw up some of the most basic things. I donât want a keyless car anymore than I want a driverless one. With these types of âadvancesâ we are going to make a lazy society.
Just keep car keys & credit cards in something foil. As foil stops both from being scanned, in the same way that some shoplifters use foil lined bags to avoid shop security tags from setting off the alarms at the door.
Keyless car systems were always going to be a security issue & the manufacturers knew it. As anything that relies upon Radio Frequency(RF) is always going to be less secure, as anyone with the right receiver can pick it up from feet away & potentially many yards away, record it & thus very easily copy it. Whilst a key needs to be physically in the presence to use or copy.
I once managed to not only grab the frequency & tone needed to open an airport security gate. But also open that gate using nothing more technical than a radio I had brought for ÂŁ15 off ebay.
Currently. A ÂŁ20 dongle off ebay that you plug into your laptop / PC etc, will cover the frequencies used by keyless entry systems, as well as baby monitors, CCTV & many many other things. Free software is then readily available to decode many things, including digital systems. It is not a plug & play system, but well within the capability of the average person with a couple of hours spare & average competency.
I started using the dongles when we used & modified the ones that were designed to be TV receivers about 20 years ago & technology has improved a lot since then. But the level of respect for customers, by car manufacturers, has not.
We have a âkeylessâ car, but I assure you that you still need a key! I think itâs called âprogressâ, though I could certainly manage quite easily by putting the key in a lock instead of pushing a button.
I bought a couple of those pouches (one for each of us) which are supposed to act like a Faraday Cage. They worked for a couple of weeks then, for some reason, gave up the ghost. I now keep my keys in a small metal box, though Marge keeps forgetting. One day, our car will disappear; then sheâll begin to remember!
A metal box will do it, as will keeping your keys somewhere like the fridge. Metal stops RF. No cage, so nothing to fail. If using tin foil, use decent quality foil & multiple layers.
Keyless entry is never good, unless the signal is encoded, or unless a code changes every time the car is opened. Digital signals are as easy to listen to, as analogue signals. Digital simply means it is not an analogue signal.
My last car was a keyless Suzuki 4x4 and I hated not using the keys. If I kept them in my pocket the engine didnât always want to start. If I kept them in the console they fell out and ended up under the seat. It was an inconvenience and I donât ever want another car with that system. I like my keys in the ignition and I know where they are.
