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£60,000 Keyless BMW Stolen Using Strange Device

I don’t see the problem with using a key. A quite enjoy the feeling of physically turning a metal object to bring an engine to life. At the same time, though, I also enjoy the gimmick of pressing a button to do the same thing, and just having to walk towards the car to unlock it

It turns out that keyless entry cars may be more trouble than they’re worth after a recent robbery in Essex, England. In the early morning, the thieves use a device in a bag, which the authorities have said may be a range extender, to unlock the car. The video above shows a man moving the bag around the front of the house trying to pick up the signal from the car’s key fob, with his accomplice waiting by the car with another bag.

The action was caught on CCTV, but the owners of the BMW didn’t realize what had happened until the next morning.

This isn’t the first time this type of robbery has taken place. Ray Anderson, a security expert whose firm covers Essex, said it was the fourth incident of this type he’d heard about in the last four months. Is this becoming a tried and tested strategy?

If so, how do you protect yourselves against it? Well, in the rare case someone does try to steal your keyless vehicle using this method, you can prevent it by keeping the fob in a fridge or a metal box. Anderson says on the subject:

 “The metal blocks the signal. We think these keyless fobs continually emit a signal. You can turn them off but most people don’t.

“We think, from analysing CCTV, [the thieves] are using a device to extend the signal which makes it appear the fob is closer than it is.

“Nothing special is required to use it. This whole thing was over in five minutes and there is not much chance of them getting it back.”

I don’t mind using a physical key, I’d much rather press a button on the key or physically unlock the car over having to store my fob next to my milk.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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