It’s almost too easy.
While we often focus on the car theft problem in the United States and even Canada, it’s an issue all around the world, including in New Zealand. A perfect example comes via Palmerston North, a city on the North Island, where thieves made off with two Ford Mustangs from a dealership in under ten minutes.
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As reported by Stuff, a news site based in New Zealand, the thieves used the same MO we see everywhere. They arrived at the dealership in the middle of the night behind the wheel of a stolen car. Then they broke into the office and pilfered whatever keys they wanted, choosing two Mustang GTs which are far more valuable on the island nation than here in the States.
These guys were wearing dark clothes, hoodies, masks, and gloves to obscure their identity and to not stand out in the dark of night. After getting the Mustangs, they left the stolen car running outside the dealership, which responding security guards found idling.
Police are reviewing two months of security tapes as part of the investigation into this heist, which sounds pretty impressive. Meanwhile, they believe the thieves will swap VIN plates and try reselling the pony cars to some unsuspecting vehicle shoppers, another trick we see all the time.
Thieves all over the world view car dealerships as the perfect soft targets. They sit empty in the middle of the night and are usually located in commercial areas where witnesses will be few if any. Accessing keys by force has proven easy for most criminals, something dealership owners need to think about and perhaps do deep research to prevent in the future.
In the meantime, we expect the trend of car dealership break-ins and thefts to continue.
Image via Stuff
