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CINCINNATI — Car thieves are evolving in their tactics, which has resulted in a spike in vehicle theft in the past years.
Spectrum News caught up with a woman who’s husband’s truck was stolen recently and is seeking answers about this rising issue.
“We only had it for five weeks, so when we came out and found it stolen, we were upset,” Cincinnati resident Kim Kempke said.
Longtime Cincinnati resident Kim Kempke says her husband’s 2022 Chevy Silverado was taken out of their driveway on December 6th. No arrests have been made.
She claims the thieves used a device to make a key and drive away. Police refer to this hack as a “relay attack,” which amplifies key fob signals, allowing reprogramming of keys using diagnostic tools to copy the original key.
“Woke up in the morning, and my neighbor up the street was knocking on my door and he was like hey, did you guys see anything on your ring camera, because somebody got into my truck and stole our wallet, I was like I need to check the truck and see if somebody messed with it,” Kempke said.
“I just feel like they know the chances of getting caught are slim to none, so why not? I feel like it’s really increasing,” Kempke continued.
Ohio and the City of Cincinnati experienced a surge in car thefts in 2023, with Kias and Hyundais being the most targeted vehicles. The city saw a record high of almost 4,000 auto thefts.
While the numbers began dropping, 2024 was still roughly double the average seen from 2014 to 2021.
I spoke to Associate Professor at the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati, Cory Haberman, about how thieves are getting more savvy. But he says in winter, sometimes we make it too easy for thieves.
“People leaving cars unlocked and running, which we know tends to happen as it gets colder because you want to warm up your car before you have to go into it, oftentimes the vehicle is left running, and someone can take advantage of it,” Haberman said.
According to the Cincinnati Police Department, thieves are targeting cars for parts. Particularly, newer cars are vulnerable to key signal theft, while older ones can be hot-wired or have keys cloned.
Kempke tells me her car has still not been found. She hopes this issue can be resolved soon.
“I hope they start looking into the issues of all these vehicles being stolen,” Cincinnati resident Kim Kempke said.

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