Should car theft kits be sold online?

WHEN all you needed to break into a car was a hammer and a flat-head screwdriver, you would expect every thug to be adept at stealing your motor. The makers got smarter, but no less clueless. Using an electronic key fob to open your car door is convenient for drivers — and thieves. Locking your car from 50 yards away is intrinsically unsafe. As the revelations about car theft kits being sold online show, so-called ‘secure’ keyless systems can be hacked. DAVE TUTT, Chatham, Kent. CAR manufacturers must address the issue of car theft by digital scanners. This is due to their lack of foresight in their haste to produce ‘smart’ cars. Surely it would be simple to devise a way for drivers to input a personal password on a dashboard keypad before the car would start. C. S. BROOKE, Winchester, Hants. CAR thieves are getting more sophisticated by using transponders to take a signal from a key fob in the house and use it to open and start a car. I tried this simple remedy to prevent this and it works. Wrap the fob in kitchen foil and store in a tin to block the signal. Cheap, simple and it works. TONY CLAYTON, Worksop, Notts. THE fact car thieves can buy car theft gadgets is preposterous. If there is a legitimate use for these devices, we need a registration scheme before you can buy them. VIC SKINNER, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear. WHEN ordering a hair product with the word ‘lock’ in its name online, I was horrified when a pop-up ad for a kit with 15 lock picks appeared for £11.99. How is this allowed? GILL LAWRENCE, Bletchley, Bucks.