How Safe is Your Car

[Raywood]

I had read that car theft was n the increase but yesterdays rip off Britain showed why.
They featured two CCTV films of car thefts which showed why.
The first was a Ford Fiesta where the car was in a car park. The thieves drew up in a near identical car opened and entered it within seconds without setting off the alarm and then were able to drive off within 90 seconds. It was not clear how they got in but they then were apparently able to plug a laptop into the diagnostic port and copy the details needed to start it. Ford did say they have now added to the security of their cars t prevent that but older ones must be vulnerable and there appears to be no defence to this other than a secondary locking system. Other makes may be susceptible to this.
The second was a Mercedes Benz. In this case it was in the owners drive and the thieves simply held a bag up to the house wall and the car unlocked itself and the thieves just drove it away within seconds. It is thought the bag contained an amplifier and was able to increase the keys weak signal to a high enough strength to fool the cars system. Again this looks to be something that other makes will also be vulnerable to, and a secondary device might well be needed The best defence though when you are at home is to have the keys in a container lined with tin foil, which will prevent the signal being read from outside the house.
It would be interesting to know what advice anyone out there has to help with these problems.

 

[otherclive]

I still use a steering wheel lock that covers three quarters of the wheel. As I read a report that said today’s thieves tend to go for electronic unlocking. But neither of our cars have the card type keys that sense when you are approaching the car. Even so we keep the keys well away from the front door. The high days and holidays car is in secure storage with 24 hr security! But that’s a bit extreme for normal motoring use.

 

[Parksy]

My Fiesta, which has keyless entry and start, was targeted by thieves a fortnight ago while it was on my drive overnight.
The drivers side window was broken using a screwdriver as a lever, which didn't make any noise, and the small change box which is at the bottom of the dashboard which also contains the OCB port next to the drivers door had been opened.
I found this puzzling until a neighbour told me that three Fiestas have been stolen from our cul-de-sacs over the past few weeks by the same gang using the method described.
I've moved the maintenance port from near to the drivers window, I now fit a steering lock every night and I park my Kia Sorento across behind the Fiesta to prevent a repeat attempt.
Somebody must have disturbed the toerags because my car was still there but with a broken side window which has cost me £80 to replace through my insurance policy.
A bloke up the road wasn't so lucky, his Fiesta was taken and he caught the three scummys on CCTV, but the police don't want to know even though two of them were armed with baseball bats.

 

[otherclive]

My Fiesta, which has keyless entry and start, was targeted by thieves a fortnight ago while it was on my drive overnight.
The drivers side window was broken using a screwdriver as a lever, which didn't make any noise, and the small change box which is at the bottom of the dashboard which also contains the OCB port next to the drivers door had been opened.
I found this puzzling until a neighbour told me that three Fiestas have been stolen from our cul-de-sacs over the past few weeks by the same gang using the method described.
I've moved the maintenance port from near to the drivers window, I now fit a steering lock every night and I park my Kia Sorento across behind the Fiesta to prevent a repeat attempt.
Somebody must have disturbed the toerags because my car was still there but with a broken side window which has cost me £80 to replace through my insurance policy.
A bloke up the road wasn't so lucky, his Fiesta was taken and he caught the three scummys on CCTV, but the police don't want to know even though two of them were armed with baseball bats.

Thanks for detailing the MO, I will let me friends know has they have a new Fiesta.

 

[SamandRose]

That's worrying but less scary than the alternative.

Some years ago my brother in law's girlfriend was forced out of her car at knifepoint by two men who then made off with it - in the process driving over her laptop which she had attempted to salvage. Neither the car nor the carjackers were ever found.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks for detailing the MO, I will let me friends know has they have a new Fiesta.

Apparently the electronic gizmos that the thieves use can be bought on internet auction sites for a pittance.
Also available online are dummy powered OCD ports that will help to deter theft, and locking ports for Fiestas are also available.
Ford really ought to recall vulnerable models to modify the OCD ports.

 

[Martin24]

In 2012 we were advised by our LR dealer to never leave our shiny new 110 Defender without putting a steering wheel lock on. We haven't used one with the Isuzu but I've already got it ready for the Sprinter. I'm also thinking about a cat lock as with the increased height it could be rather vulnerable.

 

[Brasso530]

There was a spate of LR defender thefts a while ago.Thieves removed front indicator (2 screws) bridge wires to blow fuse for horn/alarm,hey presto,also cutting earth lead under passenger seat.

 

[Craigyoung]

There are many things that can cause cars to unlock, kicking the front bumper used to work years ago , half a tennis ball over the lock and pushing for the suction that used to happening , but as for my Ford key, it is kept well away from the front door , it is now anyway !! The scum will always find a way to get something if not damage it .

 

[Dodger524]

Where there is a will, there is a way and the local low life will find it.

 

[Craigyoung]

Many words to describe them but I will get wrong of parksy !!

 

[Andy-H]

The use of the OBD2 port is sadly more and more common, particularly in Ford's; it seems to be a weekly occurrence I'm seeing ST/RS models posted as stolen without keys on Facebook.
There are kits available to move your OBD2 port to elsewhere in the car, leaving the old one as a dummy, some have even gone so far as wiring a live 12v to the old port to fry the laptop of the thief when they try to have a go.
Sadly, if they really want it, they'll have it.

 

[glenno]

My view is not to make it any harder for them. Id rather wake up with the car gone from the drive than be woken up in the middle of the night by an intruder with a knife at my daughter's throat demanding the keys. This does happen these days unfortunately. A car can be easily replaced. The mental scars of this sort of robbery cannot.

 

[DrZhivago]

My view is not to make it any harder for them. Id rather wake up with the car gone from the drive than be woken up in the middle of the night by an intruder with a knife at my daughter's throat demanding the keys.

Unlikely to happen if they are stealing a Fiesta or other commonly found car; they will move on to an easier target. They might do it for a Ferrari or other supercar.

The basic problem is that people are exchanging security for convenience. Is it really that hard to press a button on a key as you approach your car? Or even put the key into a key-hole? Or perhaps I should have said "sales gimmicks" rather than "convenience". It seems that most people choose a car based on the "Gee-Whizz" factor.

 

[otherclive]

My view is not to make it any harder for them. Id rather wake up with the car gone from the drive than be woken up in the middle of the night by an intruder with a knife at my daughter's throat demanding the keys.

Unlikely to happen if they are stealing a Fiesta or other commonly found car; they will move on to an easier target. They might do it for a Ferrari or other supercar.

The basic problem is that people are exchanging security for convenience. Is it really that hard to press a button on a key as you approach your car? Or even put the key into a key-hole? Or perhaps I should have said "sales gimmicks" rather than "convenience". It seems that most people choose a car based on the "Gee-Whizz" factor.

Unfortunately you don’t always get to choose. Look at the proliferation of touch screens sites low down on the dash. Some require a minimum of two touches to get you down to the icons that control heat and air direction. In the words of “DJT” it’s not good.

 

[Parksy]

My view is not to make it any harder for them. Id rather wake up with the car gone from the drive than be woken up in the middle of the night by an intruder with a knife at my daughter's throat demanding the keys.

Unlikely to happen if they are stealing a Fiesta or other commonly found car; they will move on to an easier target. They might do it for a Ferrari or other supercar.

The basic problem is that people are exchanging security for convenience. Is it really that hard to press a button on a key as you approach your car? Or even put the key into a key-hole? Or perhaps I should have said "sales gimmicks" rather than "convenience". It seems that most people choose a car based on the "Gee-Whizz" factor.

Cars with keyless entry systems were advertised as being harder to steal than vehicles with locks on doors, many of which could be open within seconds using a screwdriver. Old school steering column ignition systems were smashed off and the car would be gone.
Gee whiz factors have nothing to do with the choice, electronic security made car theft more difficult, and unfortunately the technical advance has been beaten for a while.
There are counter measures now available which will swing the balance back in favour of the car owners for a while, but car security is nothing to do with the ease of pressing a button or inserting an old fashioned key into a lock.

 

[Dustydog]

SWMBO new iPad needs her finger print to open it. Surely something similar on cars could make thieving harder or even those eyeball retina scan things?

 

[DrZhivago]

Cars with keyless entry systems were advertised as being harder to steal than vehicles with locks on doors, many of which could be open within seconds using a screwdriver.

I think the key word is "advertised". My understanding is that the keyless systems have a "key" (or whatever you wish to call it) that broadcasts a radio signal constantly. When it gets within two yards or so of the car it unlocks the door and you are ready to go. Correct me if I am wrong - my car is too old for such a system and I have never used one.

You would think that it would have been obvious that to steal such a car you would only need to hang around nearby with a radio receiver/recorder device as the owner "unlocked" it and take a recording of the signal; this signal can then be re-created later to steal the car. Another method is to take the recording from outside the owner's front door on the chance that they have left their key within range on the hall table. Third method (almost the same) is to use a signal amplifier close to the front door to activate the car immediately. I believe that the security industry would call this "Single Factor Authentication"

Fortunately my car is old enough to require two factor authentication. My key emits a very short-range (few inches I believe) radio signal but also needs to be inserted into an ignition key-hole and turned for the car to start. Moreover, the doors are unlocked by a differnt radio signal that only happens when I press a button on the key. Perhaps I should call that three factor authentication - one radio signal to open the door, a shaped key to turn the ignition switch, and a second radio signal for the engine contol unit to be allowed to run the engine.

However, my system requires the owner to make the Herculian effort of putting a key into the ignition and turning it. But that is too much to bear for the marketing people, who demand gee-whizz factors from the designers as their lifeblood; and also intolerable to Modern Man, apparently.

PS : 10 minutes later : I had just logged out from this and went to my favourite tech site and a headline was about a white-hat hacker getting into a Subaru using a Rasperry Pi and a smartphone. Here is the YouTube demonstration :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewMZCxi8l8A

 

[Parksy]

In my particular case the thieves gained access to the port by breaking the drivers side window with the use of a screwdriver as a lever to minimise the noise.
They didn't actually get the door open because they had to insert their electronic theft device into the OBD port, and they didn't manage to do that so the door wouldn't open and the car wouldn't start.
With an old fashioned door lock they could have been in the car, smashing the ignition key system that you wrongly imagine that I'm too bone idle to use, and the car would have been gone.
Your assertion that modern car buyers are too lazy to insert an ignition key is quite frankly ludicrous.
The modern electronic security systems on my Fiesta prevented it from being stolen even though a side window was broken.
The system that you are so dismissive of requires much more time and effort from the would be criminal.
A minimal reduction of driver effort is not the reason for the choice of vehicle.

 

[chrisn7]

The second was a Mercedes Benz. In this case it was in the owners drive and the thieves simply held a bag up to the house wall and the car unlocked itself and the thieves just drove it away within seconds. It is thought the bag contained an amplifier and was able to increase the keys weak signal to a high enough strength to fool the cars system. Again this looks to be something that other makes will also be vulnerable to, and a secondary device might well be needed The best defence though when you are at home is to have the keys in a container lined with tin foil, which will prevent the signal being read from outside the house.
It would be interesting to know what advice anyone out there has to help with these problems.

This Merc technique was reported in a BMW Facebook group only this week with CCTV footage of two cars in the same street stolen. The video showed the thieves holding a square device and moving it around the front of the house at different height to locate the fob.
So, best keep the keyless entry fob as far away from the car as possible, and as suggested in an aluminium container.

 

[JTQ]

"So, best keep the keyless entry fob as far away from the car as possible, and as suggested in an aluminium container."

Is there anything special about the box being made of aluminium as opposed to being kept in our safe which is a steel box?

 

[DrZhivago]

.... the ignition key system that you wrongly imagine that I'm too bone idle to use, and the car would have been gone.

I have not been referring to you personally Parksy, but to people in general.

 

[otherclive]

.... the ignition key system that you wrongly imagine that I'm too bone idle to use, and the car would have been gone.

I have not been referring to you personally Parksy, but to people in general.

But many “people in general “ don’t get any choice of what security system and starting system the maker deigns to supply. It’s normally a given for a particular model. Our cars come with key fobs with a range of at least 100m. So we tend only to press it when close up to the car, but it’s transmissions could still be captured remotely. So all we achieve is to make it less likely that someone could hijack the keys and drive off with an open car. The next model up has keyless entry and ignition. No choice. If you want the other features you also get keyless.

 

[Parksy]

.... the ignition key system that you wrongly imagine that I'm too bone idle to use, and the car would have been gone.

I have not been referring to you personally Parksy, but to people in general.

I'm one of the 'people in general' who owns a car which has keyless entry and ignition.
One of the selling points at the time was that the keyless system represents a vast improvement on the old generic key entry and ignition systems when vehicles were regularly stolen off the street by car thieves armed with nothing more than a screwdriver.
The keyless system did bring about a significant reduction in the incidence of car theft, but the entry codes have now been hacked so the thieves are again gaining the upper hand for a while.
Eventually rolling electronic codes will become more commonplace, which will again deter thieves who will no doubt find a method to circumvent them, until fingerprint or retina image security is cheap enough to be routinely fitted to vehicles.
To suggest that people in general like myself would buy a vehicle with keyless systems simply to avoid the 'Herculean effort of putting a key into the ignition and turning it' is misguided.
These systems are quite common, and to beat thieves armed with the electronic key code machines, many owners of vehicles fitted with keyless systems, including myself, now make the 'Herculean effort' of turning a key on a steering wheel lock, removing it and putting it in the boot before driving away.

 

[Martin24]

Hope no one hacks the code to my new lift remote control. Could be rather good fun for them but not for me.