Put keys in fridge to freeze out car thieves
IT SEEMS like an unlikely way to protect your car from being stolen – but storing your keys in a fridge or microwave could be the answer.
The metal in the devices will prevent thieves from being able to eavesdrop on signals emitted by fobs used in so-called ‘keyless’ cars.
Criminals have been able to hack them by standing near houses with a device that picks up the signal and relays it to an accomplice standing near the car with another transmitter, which unlocks and starts the vehicle.
The strategy was highlighted in astonishing footage released last week which showed two criminals stealing a Mercedes from the owner’s driveway in Essex.
Drivers have been advised to take precautions such as turning off the fob’s radio signal – achieved on Mercedes cars by clicking it twice – or storing it in a metal-lined container. A fridge or microwave would do the job, experts say. Car crime is rising for the first time in 20 years as crooks crack modern security measures. Another tactic involves jamming a fob’s signal so motorists are not locking cars when they think they are.
Andrew Miller, of specialists Thatcham Research, said: ‘As manufacturers address one weak point, criminals find others.’