IN-DEPTH: How Criminals Use Gadgets to Bypass Keyless Fobs and Steal 350 Cars a Day

Expert says it is 'insane' jamming devices are illegal to use but legal to own

A motorist holds a keyless fob. Lily Zhou/The Epoch Times

Car thieves are stealing around 350 vehicles a day in the UK, many of which are taken using electronic devices which bypass the keyless fob and can be bought on the internet for as little as £1,000.

In 2022 the number of vehicles stolen was 112,871, up from 89,811 the previous year, a rise of 25 percent.

Steve Whittaker, a former detective chief inspector who now works as police liaison manager for Tracker—which has been making telematic devices since 1993—said car manufacturers were struggling to find a way of stopping so-called relay attacks.

In a relay attack—sometimes referred to as a keyless hack—criminals arrive outside a house and use a device known as a keyless repeater to amplify the signal through the walls from the fob inside.

John Green, a mechanic in the south east of England, explained to The Epoch Times: “When they use their equipment to get the signal it will usually record the signal data for the key remote to the car. The equipment then mimics the remote, fooling the car security systems into thinking it’s a key remote.”

It can take as little as 30 seconds and Tracker’s latest data suggests 93 percent of vehicles which were stolen and recovered were taken without using the owner’s keys.

Mr. Green said: “The manufacturers are working on a solution but as soon as they do the crooks will find another way.”

A source in the criminal justice system has told The Epoch Times some high-end vehicles stolen with relay attacks had been used as getaway cars in murders.

Earlier this month an underworld hitman, 33-year-old Dean Adams, was jailed for life for a drive-by shooting in Plaistow, east London, in which the killers used a stolen Volvo SUV, which was later set on fire.

And in June this year, five men were convicted of murdering Sharmake Mohamud, 22, in Haringey, north London, on Sep. 21, 2021. The men, members of a gang from Palmers Green, used a Jaguar which had been stolen from Enfield a month before and was later burnt out.

Stolen Cars Ending up in ‘Chop Shops’

Mr. Whittaker said although some vehicles were used as getaway cars—often using cloned number plates which matched a genuine and legitimate vehicle of the same make and colour—a larger proportion were taken to “chop shops,” illicit garages where experts working for organised criminals cut up cars and remove valuable parts or disguise its identity by removing its VIN number.

The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) said around 356 vehicles were being stolen every day.

Undated images of a "chop shop" in an undisclosed location in England. National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service

Insurance premiums have shot up, reaching an average premium of £511 last week, but the Association of British Insurers insists the rises are due to inflationary pressures rather than an increase in car theft.

But Autocar magazine reported earlier this year that some Range Rover drivers in London were struggling to find any insurers willing to offer any cover at all.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said Range Rovers were the second most popular car with thieves, with 5,200 stolen in 2022 alone.

Mr. Whittaker said: “There have been massive increases in insurance premiums, especially Range Rovers and Jaguar Land Rover, they’re difficult to insure because insurance companies want to protect their assets more and more. I’ve heard horror stories where it’s quite a few thousand pounds to insure a vehicle, certainly in London or other metropolitan areas.”

He said Tracker had a 95 percent success rate when it came to tracing stolen vehicles but he said car thieves were aware of trackers and would use jamming devices in an attempt to stop the GPS signal.

Law on Jamming Devices ‘Insane’

Mr. Whittaker said: “It’s a bit of a nonsense around jammers because it’s not illegal to buy one, it’s not illegal to possess one, but it’s illegal to use one. But there’s no reason why anybody would have a jammer device other than to commit criminality. It’s insane really.”

He said criminals were quite “creative” and “brazen.”

They carry out a process called “soaking” when they steal cars, in which they left them beside the road or parked up somewhere in public for a few days or weeks to see if the police or a tracker company locates them.

If nobody comes and gets the car, the criminals can be fairly confident it is not fitted with a tracker, and they can then take it to a “chop shop” or sell it on.

A finger on the ignition of a car which uses a keyless fob. Lily Zhou/The Epoch Times

“It’s definitely now organised crime groups who are responsible for stealing vehicles on quite a big, industrial scale,” said Mr. Whittaker.

He said some specialist car thieves would be paid £250 a time to steal a car and then pass it on to the organised crime group, who would arrange for it to be broken down and then shipped abroad.

Mr. Whittaker said cars used to be much easier to break into and steal in the 1970s and 80s but a lot of vehicle crime “got designed out.”

But he said criminals had caught up and keyless fobs were a particular Achilles heel.

“Flipping your zapper on your key that gets you in is all very convenient, but that has certainly increased the amount of vehicles that have been stolen,” said Mr. Whittaker, who said other gangs would burgle houses just to obtain the keys of high-end cars parked on the drive.

Essex Police Recover Cars Worth £12 Million

Last month Essex Police said its stolen vehicle intelligence unit had recovered £12 million worth of cars this year, including a Rolls Royce Cullinan worth £360,000, along with several Range Rovers and BMWs.

The unit said it had dismantled 15 chop shops this year and intercepted 50 shipping containers containing cars and car parts which were ready for export to nefarious and unscrupulous customers.

Officers found vehicles at an industrial estate in Canvey Island which had been stolen from all over the south east of England.

An undated image of a stolen Rolls Royce Cullinan worth more than £360,000 which was found in a container in Essex, England. Essex Police/PA

Assistant Chief Constable Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ council lead for vehicle crime, said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times: “We are undertaking significant work to tackle vehicle theft including examining disposal routes for stolen vehicles and taking proactive action with law enforcement as a result.”

“We work closely with the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service to target ports using additional resources which we know are a key route for moving stolen vehicles, as well as with police forces and colleagues in the NPCC metal theft portfolio to tackle so-called ‘chop shops’ and continue to successfully bring offenders to justice,” she added.

Police ‘Proactively Working With Home Office’

Ms. Sims said: “We also engage with vehicle manufacturers on theft prevention and work with the Government to develop ways in which legislation can support us in tackling vehicle theft. We know that the majority of vehicles are stolen with no keys so we are proactively working with the Home Office and government to consider how to stop the sale of items like keyless repeaters and GPS jamming devices which have no legitimate purpose outside of criminal use.”

She recommended motorists keep their keyless fobs in Faraday pouches or metal boxes, which block signals.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, “Car makers take vehicle security extremely seriously, continually rolling out new features—from double locking systems to ultra-wideband technology—to try and stay one step ahead of criminals.

“However, with most car crime still attributable to the unauthorised use of owners’ keys, technology alone cannot put an end to criminal activity,” he added.

“That’s why the sector is working closely with the police, insurance industry and other security stakeholders and calling for the prevention of sale of devices which have no legal purpose but are used by criminals to steal cars,” said Mr. Hawes.

In January the Home Office launched a consultation which proposed criminalising the making, supplying or possession of certain “articles for use in serious crime.”

These included pill presses used to print drug tablets, digital templates used to make gun parts on a 3D printer and “sophisticated encrypted communication devices used to facilitate organised crime”, which follows the discovery of the Encrochat network.

In a foreword to the consultation, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “Protecting the public is my highest priority. I am absolutely committed to equipping our law enforcement agencies with the tools and legal powers they need to tackle serious and organised crime and to stay ahead of the most resourceful and relentless criminals currently operating in the UK.”

But signal amplifiers and jamming devices used by organised criminals to steal cars were not included on the list.

The Epoch Times contacted the Home Office but has not received a response.