Due to the limited supply of car sellers in the secondary market, there is now a revival. Buyers are increasingly paying attention to three-five-year-old cars, and criminals are becoming more active along with them. High demand makes hijackers profitable. Moreover, they come up with new theft schemes to simplify their own craft. What are these schemes and how to protect yourself from them?
Changing the key to a dummy.
The media are spreading a new scheme of theft, which was revealed by the head of the Avtocriminalist expert center Maxim Shelkov. Malefactors began to pay attention to announcements on sale of cars . They pretend to be buyers and come to the inspection to evaluate the car they like and study its advantages and disadvantages. In this case, the owner of the car himself tells the “guests” about the installed anti-theft systems in the car and about the secret buttons to turn off the alarm, if any. At the same time, he also allows you to sit in the salon and conduct a small test drive. After that, a decision is made on the theft.
If the car does not have complex anti-theft devices and only has a standard immobilizer, then the theft process is simplified. The criminals first ask to see two car keys under the pretext of evaluating their safety. They convince the owner that you need to make sure that they are available, since CASCO insurance will be required without fail. The seller shows the keys, and here the performance begins. Malefactors consider their appearance, discuss attritions and check up operability. Then they distract the owner with conversations, funny stories and imperceptibly change the key to the same dummy. After that, they quickly lose interest in the car and leave.
The owner forgets to check the returned key, puts it in a bag along with the TCP and forgets. At best, he discovers the loss of the key only after the car is stolen.The criminals, meanwhile, track the car’s parking space, unlock it with a stolen key, and drive away.
Diagnostics with copying of key signals
The second way is more laborious. If the car is equipped with an alarm or the owner is too sensitive to the key, then the second method of theft is used. Visitors pretend that they liked the car and are ready to buy it, but only after a technical examination. The owner, as a rule, agrees, because it is also beneficial for him to conduct a technical inspection at someone else’s expense. The attackers make several calls and offer to come to the garages or to the service station, where the car can be put on a lift and all components can be diagnosed. At the same time, during operation, they take possession of the key and manage to remove radio tag signals from it using special equipment. Moreover, the masters at the service station may not be aware of the true intentions of these people. The key is then returned to the owner,
After some time, the criminals find the car and, using a duplicate key made with a newly encoded code, open the locks, remove the protection and leave. Moreover, theft can be carried out after the car finds a new owner.
