THIS is the moment thieves effortlessly broke into a keyless car – before a “ghost” device stopped them in their tracks.
The owner was saved a £30,000 claim and insurance premium hikes thanks to the ingenious gadget.
Security camera footage posted on YouTube shows a gang of masked yobs approaching the luxury SUV while it’s parked up on a quiet residential road.
The timecode shows that the brazen thieves were confident enough in a quick getaway that they took their chances in the middle of the evening rather than waiting until the small hours.
In a terrifying twist, the lead crook reaches into his pocket while standing between the car and the owner’s home and unlocks the car within seconds.
It appears that they may have used a relay device to amplify the signal from a key fob inside the property and trick the car’s keyless entry system into disarming.
Having easily opened the door, they crouched in the driver side footwell while his two accomplices kept watch.
What he does next is not clear in the clip but it resembles a common method of hotwiring the ignition system.
Less than 20 seconds later, the engine turns over and the lights turn on.
If it wasn’t for the added layer of protection the owner had installed, the gang likely would have fled without a trace.
However, the second they attempted to drive off, the motor’s “ghost” immobiliser sprang into action.
The gadget, which can be bought and installed for a few hundred pounds aftermarket, is wired into the ignition and activates each time the car is switched on.
It can only be deactivated by a pre-loaded sequence of dashboard or steering wheel buttons determined by the owner, similar to a PIN code.
If this isn’t entered, the tech will force the engine to cut out as soon as you press the accelerator.
It doesn’t rely on any key fob and there is no indication that it is installed, catching prospective thieves unaware.
And when it is set off, it can be connected to a dedicated app on your phone to alert you and allow you to disarm it remotely too.
In this case, the gang were clearly spooked and leapt out of the motor, which rolled slowly into the car parked in front.
They then legged it down the road as fast as they could for fear of being caught.
It comes after a driver was spotted deliberately blocking a primary school path with their car amid a furious parking row.
By Jacob Jaffa
EXPERTS have shared three effective methods to protect your motor in 2024 after thefts hit an all-time high last year.
Security specialists from Swansway Motor Group, a family-owned dealership brand based in Cheshire, shared the handy tips and emphasised the importance of “strategic thinking” to stay one step ahead of criminals.
Data from LV General found that 2023 was the worst year on record for car thefts, making it more important than ever to know how to keep your vehicle safe.
Fortunately the team at Swansway have all the tricks you need.
First of all, they urged drivers to consider “strategic parking” to both make the car harder to steal and make it a less attractive target.
Thieves are more likely to try and pinch motors that are out of the way and in non-secure spaces.
Instead, try and store yours in a locked garage, barrier-protected car park or, at least, a well-lit street, preferably with CCTV coverage.
This will make it much harder to make off with it without being spotted.
The second tip is to use “old-fashioned” visual deterrents.
Things like steering wheel locks and distinctive custom markings or bright paintwork can make it more time-consuming to actually steal the car and harder to conceal it afterwards.
Even keeping your car very clean can put off any shady characters as opportunistic thieves tend to target neglected vehicles on the basis that they won’t be missed.
Finally, the experts also shared a nifty trick for combatting a more modern and sinister form of theft.
The rise of keyless ignition has led to the increasing chance of “relay thefts“, where criminals intercept the signal by which your key fob communicates with your car and replicate it, as good as handing them the keys.
Fortunately, this can be easily prevented by keeping your fob in a Faraday pouch, which blocks wireless signals, when not in use.
A Swansway spokesperson said: “Faraday pouches are a simple, yet highly effective tool.
“By shielding your car keys from external signals, these pouches prevent remote signal interceptions, a common method used by modern thieves to gain access to vehicles without needing the physical key.”
