Keyless vehicle thefts: What you need to know
By Jason Rantala
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Minneapolis man is wondering how thieves stole his car from inside his apartment garage while he had the key.
Andy, who works at WCCO, says he left his Volkswagen Taos inside his Stevens Square apartment on Saturday night before going out to dinner. The following morning, he said his garage door opener was missing.
“I’ve heard of the Hyundais, the KIA, that sort of thing happening, you know, that’s a known issue. This was something I never expected,” Andy said. “My seat belt was buckled, even though there was nobody in it in the driver’s side, and then I saw that my middle console had been rifled through.”
Andy checked his VW car app, which showed his car had been driven 63 miles between the hours of 5 p.m. and 2 a.m.
“My doors were locked, I didn’t know how they could get through,” he said.
While Minneapolis police are still investigating, Andy went to social media for answers.
“Other people told me it had been happening to them or they’d heard of that happening,” he said.
What Andy believes happened is what experts say is part of a growing trend: keyless vehicle thefts. Thieves capture radio signals from your key fob by using a device that grabs that fob’s signal, even from long distances. That signal can be stored and re-used.
Experts say there are a few ways to protect your vehicle. Store your fob away from glass doors and windows. You can also buy a radio frequency-blocking box or pouch to store your fob.
Andy bought a pouch on Amazon and says he’ll soon get the frequency of his key changed at a VW dealership. Adding to his frustrations, Andy says he’s getting the runaround from police.
“They don’t even know if they’re going to investigate it at all because of manpower. That’s frustrating to me,” he said. “I want this to never happen again.”
Andy says he’s keeping his car in another location since the thieves have his garage opener. He’s also waiting to see the surveillance footage from his apartment to see if that shows the theft.
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