Thieves have developed a new technique that allows them to easily steal a certain type of vehicle. Indeed, Les Numériques reported in January 2022 that the American police services were alerting against an upsurge in car thefts by amplifying the locking system and ignition of the engine by contactless key.
Thus it is people with “Keyless Go” electronic keys who risk being the victim of these scammers. As reported by Femme Actuelle, it is now possible to easily obtain wave amplifiers capable of increasing the range up to about 100 meters.
In early 2022, it was the German association ADAC which alerted to this process, denouncing the fact that a very small part of the vehicles concerned were protected against this kind of practice. Indeed, of the 500 models equipped with “Keyless Go” technology, only 23 benefit from protection against this type of theft.
Fortunately, there are tips that can help protect against this type of theft. For this, you will only need a sheet of aluminum foil, then use it to wrap the keys. The aluminum foil will have the effect of blocking the signal emitted by the key, so the amplifiers will no longer be of any use.
For the technique to be effective, the key must be placed inside the aluminum whenever it is not in use. In addition to this technique, it is now also possible to obtain metal storage pouches which protect the “Keyless Go” keys from amplifiers and therefore reduce the risk of car theft.
