Law enforcement officials are warning the public of new methods burglars are using to steal newer cars right from the driveways of their owners.
According to two Anaheim Police Department officials, criminals are using tablets meant for locksmiths and antennas to target higher-end vehicles. Recently in Anaheim Hills, a group of thieves was captured on surveillance camera successfully stealing a truck from the driveway of a homeowner.
Heather Scaglione, a detective with the Anaheim Police Department, reviewed the footage and exposed how the thieves were able to do it.
“(He) checks the handle first and sees that it’s locked,” she said. “Then, he heads over to the back window and then uses a window punch to break it. Once that happens, because there’s tint on the window, it stays intact. He’s able to peel it off the car and climb in.”
Scaglione said after accessing the inside of the truck, the thief was handed a locksmith tool by an accomplice outside the vehicle.
“That plugs into the computer system in the car so he can quickly re-program it and turn the car on so that he can leave with that truck,” she said.
The locksmith tool isn’t the only method car thieves have been using, officials said. Anaheim Police Department Sgt. Matt Sutter said some criminals are targeting vehicles with keyless entry key fobs by using antennas. Since keyless entry key fobs use signals to open doors for their rightful owners, thieves are intercepting those signals for their own use.
“They hold an antenna up near the house trying to pick up the signal from your key fob that is inside the house,” Sutter said. “Once they pick up that signal, they send it to somebody standing right by the car, opens the car right up, gets in, presses the start button and off they go.”
With this information, both Anaheim officers said there are a couple of options people could do to protect their property.
“One is to turn off the key fob feature that allows your remote access to your car,” Sutter said. “Where you walk up, pull on the handle and get in. You can turn that feature off. The other is to store your keys at different places in the house. Some people like to store their keys next to the front door, maybe hide it or put it some place further deep in the house so that can’t easily pick up the signal with that antenna.”
“There’s another thing called the Faraday Bag that you can put your key fob in that blocks that signal from going out,” Scaglione added. “You can either purchase or you can make it out of aluminum foil.”
So far in both cases of car thefts that were mentioned, no arrests have been made. It’s unclear if the cases are connected.
Anyone with information on either theft is asked to call Anaheim police at 714-765-1900.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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