Cars with the latest security technologies may not be as foolproof as they appear to be, as proven by a team of car thieves.
A surveillance video released by the West Midlands Police in England showed a team of high-tech thieves hacking a keyless Mercedes Benz.
Two men exited a vehicle which pulled up just behind the parked Mercedes. Each man carried a device called a relay box to hack the car’s locking system. One man carried his box near the garage shed, while the other stood beside the target car.
In just about 47 seconds since getting off their getaway vehicle, the target car had been unlocked and ready to be driven.
According to the Derby Telegraph, authorities call the case a “relay crime” for the use of relay boxes to exploit keyless technology.
Relay boxes are gadgets that can pick up weak signals and transmit them over longer distances. The man who went over to the owner’s house looked for the signal of the car’s remote key. With his relay box, the signal had been forwarded to his partner’s box to unlock the vehicle.
The car has not been found since then.
Mark Silvester of the West Midlands Police crime reduction team suggests using steering wheel locks and tracking devices as added precautions. Alfred Bayle/JB
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