1. How are thieves stealing cars using key fob technology?
Thieves use handheld antennas to hijack the signal between a vehicle and its key fob, often while standing outside the owner’s home, which tricks the engine into starting. Once the car is running, they plug in a key programmer — a tool normally used by locksmiths — that allows the vehicle to recognize a cloned replacement key fob instead of the original.
2. Who is behind these sophisticated car thefts?
Organized crime groups are orchestrating these thefts coast to coast, not opportunistic joyriders like the Kia Boyz trend during the pandemic. These criminals have institutional knowledge, often gained in prison, that enables them to scrub vehicle identification numbers and produce counterfeit documents. Some operations have been linked to individuals with criminal histories, including murder, assault, and weapons charges.
3. What types of vehicles are being targeted and how quickly do they disappear?
Thieves are targeting expensive vehicles such as Dodge Chargers, Challengers, BMWs, Land Rovers, and Mercedes-Benzes. The criminals can move a stolen vehicle or strip it for parts in roughly two days, and the cars are quickly sent out of state or even overseas before owners can recover them.
SEE ALSO: Cloned key fobs and antennas are powering a new wave of car thefts in U.S.
4. How profitable is this criminal enterprise compared to other illegal activities?
There’s more money made in stolen car operations than in drug trafficking, according to investigators. A new car averages about $50,000, compared to $35,000 for a kilogram of heroin on the street. In one New York case, prosecutors dismantled a theft ring that stole at least $4.6 million worth of vehicles, and some stolen Audi A6s purchased for $30,000 in the U.S. were resold for more than $100,000 in China.
5. Why has this type of car theft become so widespread?
The combination of high profits and relatively lenient legal consequences has fueled the surge in key fob thefts. While drug convictions can result in serious prison time, being caught with a stolen car, especially for juveniles, typically results in light punishment, with many offenders being released quickly and returning to theft operations. 
Read more: Cloned key fobs and antennas are powering a new wave of car thefts in U.S.
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
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