Following a spate of car thefts in a part of Merseyside at the beginning of the week, advice is now available for those who may want to minimise the threat of this happening.
Merseyside Police confirmed Southport had been the area where car keys, and as a result cars, were being targeted by thieves. The warning to drivers came after an Audi and BMW were both stolen.
In both cases, the cars were taken after offenders forced the lock of rear doors/patio doors of homes to gain entry and steal the car keys. Car sales site heycar.co.uk has now offered advice, with the company explaining that keyless car thefts are also quite common.
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Senior editor for the site, Dan Powell, said: “The most common form of keyless theft happens when thieves capture the signal from the keyfob and then boost it to open the car and drive it away.
“This is usually carried out by two people: the first will stand near your front door (where the key is likely to be closest) to collect the signal and amplify it to a second person who stands next to the car with a transmitter to trick the vehicle into thinking they have the key.
“A signal blocking bag is one of the simplest ways to prevent keyless car theft. Often called a Faraday bag, these pouches are readily available from online retailers and most of them cost less than £10. Some metal boxes (like those that biscuits or tea bags come in) can also perform the same job. As a general rule, you should never store your car keys next to your front door.
“To check that the tin or Faraday bag works, pop the key in and approach your car to see if you can unlock it. The car doors should stay locked while the key is in the signal blocking tin/pouch. Don’t forget to store the spare keyfob in a similar bag or tin, otherwise, the crooks will hack the signal from that instead.
“It also pays to have a visual obstacle. A lockable post on your driveway or a steering wheel lock will act as powerful visual deterrents and force a criminal to think twice before attempting to seal your car.”
