Any new car owner should be very alarmed at the sight of the following video. It shows a brand new 60,000$ BMW being stolen in seconds with the use of a simple computer and some dark web software to bypass the alarm system.
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The thugs can be seen on CCTV arriving with a laptop computer and a gadget that seeks out and then amplifies the signal from the actual key. One of the two holds the gadget close to the front door and windows to find where the keys are stored. As soon as the signal is found, it is transmitted to the laptop of the other thief who opens the door of the car which is then put in action with the start stop button.
All this in less than 60 seconds. Key activated, security system bypassed. According to London metropolitan police, there have been four of these cases in the past two weeks.
Another victim, gym owner Mr Graham Sinclair, 44 years old, had his 100,000$ BMW X5 stolen from his Enfield drive in the early hours of Friday morning. He said: “I was actually awake until 4am and never heard a thing and the car was less than 20 metres away from me. There were no signs of forced entry and no break-in at the house. I reported it to BMW to see if they could immobilise but they couldn’t… it’s so frustrating to know someone got off with your car with that signal enhancer. These thieves are evolving fast and manufacturers need to match them.”
The police is flabbergasted at how fast thieves are getting updated about car technology. Investigating officer Mr Pete Ellis commented: “This technology used to be confined to more high-end vehicles but it is becoming more widespread and therefore there is a potential for ‘relay attacks’ to become more common.”
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