Page 27 - On The Move - Volume 18, Issue 3

UNDER LOCK AND KEY

Theft based on stealing car keys is a whole other category of generally low-tech theft, Berzins says. A thief
poses as a customer, gets their hands on the keys to a vehicle, then pulls a switcheroo and hands a dummy
key back to the salesperson. The thief comes back later and, using the real key, climbs in the vehicle and
simply drives away.

“We find it all the time,” Berzins says. “The client says, ‘But we’ve got the keys.’ They might look like the real
ones – unless the salesperson actually tests it.”

A thief with enough nerve could also just hop in a car in the service lane with keys in it, or even with the motor
running. “Service departments should not leave keys inside vehicles, even in the service bay,” he says, and
dealerships should require strict procedures to control access to keys.

There’s also a higher-tech method of intercepting the radio-frequency identification (RFID) signal from
switcheroo
remote-control key fobs and creating a new key to “spoof” the car into accepting the new, phony key, Berzins
says.

However, it’s inconvenient and risky for thieves because it requires at least two people to pull it off; they have
to be close to the vehicle when someone unlocks it; and it requires the thieves to steal the car right away,
while the fake key works.

NOT-SO-WELCOME MAT

A common problem is that dealerships may not be vigilant enough; to put it more positively, Berzins says
dealerships understandably may be “too” welcoming because, after all, they’re trying to sell cars.

“If you’re there to purchase a vehicle, or just to wander around, I can’t think of any place more inviting”
than a dealership, he says.

Meanwhile, he says successful thieves really do study dealership routines. They may know where
unsecured keys are kept, for instance. Thieves also tend to choose busy times, when they can disappear
in the hustle and bustle.

Naturally, thieves also are known to strike at night when no one’s around. Berzins says relatively low-
tech countermeasures include motion-detection lighting and security cameras, plus ways to physically
make it difficult to drive off with stolen cars, such as vehicles parked at night at entrances and exits, plus
gates, fences or even ditches.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

None of this is to minimize the high-tech threat, which is serious and getting worse, especially as thieves try
to purchase vehicles online using stolen or phony identities, Berzins says.

“There’ve been a lot of technology advances, a lot of technical advances for the vehicles,” he says. “The
problem is, technical advances are also moving forward for the criminals.”

Still, he says there are ways internet thieves often tip their hands. Warning signs include whether someone
uses a credit card or a cashier’s check for the down payment; whether they’re unusually eager to take delivery,
with some compelling story, like they’re moving; and whether they request delivery somewhere unusual,
other than home or office.

“If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is,” Berzins says. “If someone’s traveling five states just to get
a vehicle from you, that’s a great big red flag.”
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