More Thieves Are Breaking Into Homes To Steal Car Keys

We’ve noticed an increasing trend for some time now as thieves are breaking into houses while owners are sleeping or otherwise distracted. They’re usually not holding people at gunpoint, cleaning out their jewelry, or demanding they open a safe loaded with money. Instead, they’re more cat burglars, avoiding contact with anyone in the house so they can get the car key fob(s) and leave undetected.

This is why you need to always be alert while driving.

Thankfully, we’re not the only ones noticing this trend. A recent feature in Tap Into Wayne, a local publication in New Jersey, touched on it as well. Not too long after, several news outlets ran similar stories after the Verona, New Jersey police chief warned of this trend.

Before you start thinking this is just a New Jersey problem, it isn’t. We’ve seen these types of stories in other parts of the nation and in foreign countries. Thieves know most people put their keys by the door, so they only have to make it a few steps into your house before they can turn around and leave.

The solution is to not keep your keys somewhere predictable. You might even want to put your keys in a secure location. We won’t tell you exactly what to do because thieves read these articles as well, but being creative helps.

Not only do you need to be concerned with someone breaking into your house to steal your car’s key fob, you need to block the signal that fob is transmitting constantly. For years thieves have used a rather simple system where one stands right outside your house by where you likely hang your keys on a hook or put in a bowl.

That person captures the signal from the fob with a device, which then relays it to a second thief standing next to your vehicle in the driveway, fooling the security system into believing the key fob is right outside. They can unlock your car and drive away as if they were you.

Some are doing what’s called key cloning, which uses a locksmith device to capture the signal from the key fob. The device then programs a new fob to be a clone of the original.

The way to stop either key fob attack this is to put your keys in a Faraday cage. Bags lined with signal-blocking material as well as other objects running a whole range are available to buy online. We suggest you do your homework before purchasing a solution. Don’t take too long since in the meantime you could fall victim to this scheme.

Image via Alan Quirvan