Thieves steal car by holding a bag up to your front door
Thieves have stolen been a £60,000 BMW X5, simply by doing nothing more than holding a bag up to their front door.
This happened in the UK just days after a Mercedes Benz was stolen in a similar way.
Experts think that the thieves have a transmitting device inside the bag that extends the signal from the BMW’s keyless fob, which is still inside the house.
The car was driven away at around 2 am on April 4, while the owners were still asleep in bed.
Many of the luxury high-end cars now have keyless start systems, which means they can be easily unlocked just by simply having a fob nearby.
The key fobs contain computer chips and security codes that are detected by a computer inside the car.
Once the fob is close to the car and even if it is in the owner's pocket, the driver can start the car’s engine with the press of a button.
Both a BMW and Mercedes were stolen in Essex raising concerns that a gang is targeting keyless cars.
Ray Anderson, who is a security expert with Classic Security Solutions said that it was the fourth such car theft he’d heard of so far this year in the area.
As of yet, it is not known if any cars have been stolen in Ireland in this way?
Mr Anderson went on to say that the only way to protect your car from a similar type of theft is to keep your key fob inside a metal box, or even inside the fridge.
“The metal blocks the signal,’
“We think these keyless fobs continually emit a signal. You can turn them off but most people don’t.
“We think, from analysing CCTV, the thieves are using a device to extend the signal – which makes it appear the fob is closer than it is.’
“We are extremely concerned our BMW could be stolen in this way,’ they said. ‘We see this as a significant security breach.”
The owners of the stolen BMW didn’t want to be identified but have released CCTV footage to warn other motorists what car thieves are capable of.
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Justin Kavanagh
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