AUTO LOCKSMITHS
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Keyless crime
Dear Gemma, I am retired and do not know
enough about vehicle security and electronics
to write an in-depth article, but I would
welcome a reader of The Locksmith Journal
who is a specialist in electronic vehicle
security, and can see a possible solution to
the problem, to get in touch if they can help.
» I KEEP A VERY KEEN INTEREST
in electronic security for homes
and vehicles because criminals are
usually 12 to 18 months behind in
overcoming the newest electronic
security measures. My Volvo,
which is keyless has been opened
twice, but not stolen. The vehicle
is eight years old, now has a low
value and is not worth stealing.
Having spoken to Volvo, there
seems no interest on their part to
rectify this situation by returning
to a combination of physical key
security and electronic security
which act separately to secure the
vehicle.
A Renault people carrier was
stolen from my niece. It is thought
the method used was to record
the signal of the electronic key fob
to the vehicle, and the response
of the vehicle to the key fob. The
recorder would have needed to
be close-by in a parked vehicle,
so ordinary looking it would
not arouse suspicion. With this
recording, it was possible to make
a duplicate key fob, and having
waited for my niece to return from
a school run, use the duplicated
electronic fob to steal the vehicle,
as soon as she was inside the
family home with the children.
If the vehicle has key operated
doors, once the driver is inside, an
electronic fob could be touched to
a reader on the dashboard and be
read. No signal would need to be
transmitted through the air, and so
the electronic signals would not be
recordable by a device in a nearby
vehicle.
The door locks would have to be
of a standard, which would need
a Lishi pick to open, and to take
more than a few minutes to open.
Tibbe locks are too easy to open.
Trackers can be overcome by
leaving a stolen vehicle parked
for a week or so. If no one comes
for the vehicle, then the thieves
know there is no tracker fitted and
the vehicle is safe to move for
breaking up or exporting.
I read a recent article in the
Metro about a cloning gang based
on a farm in Romford, Essex that
was busted. They are thought to
have stolen about 90 high end
cars, using the methods I have
outlined to you.
The cost of the cloning
electronics is only a fraction of
the cost of a single high-end
SUV. It is a fantastic return on the
capital investment, but of course
it is a crime and you eventually
get caught. The people who do
it always think they will never be
caught and will be always ‘ahead
of the game’.
All smart phones and computers
leave an electronic trail. The
Police may not in the beginning
understand what is encrypted,
but traffic analysis will eventually
identify where people are and
who they are in contact with, even
if the information exchanged is
encrypted. It is difficult to ‘be off
the radar’ these days, and they will
eventually ‘show up’ electronically
near the scene of a crime.
I have seen electronic multipoint
locks for front doors at exhibitions
that are fob operated. I don’t think
they are a good idea.
‘very advanced electronics are
fitted to locks, but the physical
lock itself is easy to overcome’
A locksmith in the Midlands
mentioned to me that very
advanced electronics are fitted to
locks, but the physical lock itself
is easy to overcome by traditional
picking methods, and the public is
not aware of this.
I am sure somewhere in your
readership are the people who
know enough to make car theft
very hard indeed. It is possible
they are so busy, they have no
time to put pen to paper, but I
hope someone will.
Kind regards,
Dominique Pechon.
If you can help Dominique or have your own question for The Locksmith Journal readers, please email [email protected]
58
MAR/APR 2020
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