With keyless vehicles and the growing rate of advanced technology, thieves are gaining  more accessibility in auto theft.

According to IBC (Insurance Bureau of Canada), a car is stolen every 6 minutes in Canada. ​An experienced thief can steal your car without a key in a mere 30 seconds.

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West Island resident Lynn Filion, woke up to an empty driveway last Saturday with no sight of her Lexus NX300 in Kirkland, Timberlea area. “It was a 3 person job, they clearly knew what they were doing. They seemed to flicker a spark while near the car and all the doors opened,” she claimed, after describing the video footage from her home security camera.

Beaconsfield resident Sarah Kanter noted a similar story when her car was stolen from her driveway on Victoria day. “They used a special machine to trick my keyless entry from my porch because my keys were close to the door” she added.

Jenn, Facebook user in the West Island Community group, claims that the West Island has seen a noticeable rise with car theft in the past couple of months. “Someone tried to steal my hubby’s truck two months ago and got scared away by our neighbour. We had to get the truck reprogrammed because they had cloned the key.”

On the same night, around Baffin street in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a similar situation took place. They were told to check for white/greyish spray paint on their vehicle from someone on Baffin street, as it’s assumed to be a tactic for thieves to mark the vehicles, so they can facilitate the robbery. Jenn confirmed this paint was in fact on the truck the thieves attempted to steal.

“As it was a group stealing vehicles in this area, one guy would deactivate the alarm and another would see the paint marking and steal it with their newly activated key a few hours later” noted Jenn.

Key clonings/hackings are a worrisome reality in todays technological world, as auto theft is taking a digital turn. Auto theft criminals are able to use a digital system that essentially scans and copies the car key signal which is then used to break into one’s car.

For a more extensive look at car/key hacking technology, take a look at the link below for a clearer explanation.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/know-how/car-hacking-and-key-hacking/

Preventative Measures:

Of course nothing is guaranteed, however, there are some measures you can take that will help prevent your cars from easily being stolen.

-You can purchase a vehicle tag that is able to track your car. This is basically a sticker on your vehicle that’s also useful in notifying the thieves of this tracking device, making it less likely for them to steal.

-Do not keep your keys near the front door. You don’t want them to catch any signals.

-According to some security professionals, wrapping your keys in tin foil will block out sensitive information from thieves trying to access your keys signal.

-Avoid purchasing a car that’s popularly stolen. According to IBC, below is a list of cars most stolen in Canada in 2019:

1- 2007 FORD F350 SD 4WD
2- 2006 FORD F350 SD 4WD
3- 2005 FORD F350 SD 4WD
4-2004 FORD F350 SD 4WD
5- 2006 FORD F250 SD 4WD
6- 2003 FORD F350 SD 4WD
7- 2018 LEXUS RX350/RX350L/RX450h/RX450hL 4DR AWD
8- 2005 FORD F250 SD 4WD
9- 2002 FORD F350 SD 4WD
10- 1998 HONDA CIVIC Si 2DR COUPE