Modern conveniences come at quite the price…
A lot of people absolutely love the keyless entry and ignition on their newer car, but the problem is so do thieves. The owner of a Mercedes C-Class in the UK learned this the hard way recently when thieves swiped his ride in under 20 seconds by exploiting the keyless tech.
Watch a classic Mustang get rescued here.
According to a report from the BBC, the owner of the Mercedes realized his car was taken in the middle of the night when he left for work in the morning. Sadly, that’s how it happens for many people, especially if they park outside overnight.
Surveillance video showed how quickly the thieves worked, who obviously knew exactly what they were doing. In under 20 seconds they were inside the car, started the engine, and drove off, just like they had stolen the man’s key.
There are a few ways thieves can exploit the keyless system in a newer car. One is to reprogram the ignition to accept a key the thieves are carrying. Another, which is what these thieves likely used, involves capturing the signal being broadcast by the victim’s key from the house, relaying that signal to the car, which requires a team of two to pull off.
The Mercedes C-Class owner told the BBC it took him years to save up for what he calls his “dream car.” He only had it for two months before thieves helped themselves to it in seconds. Police in the area are trying to warn people that thieves are specifically targeting high-end vehicles.
As for the victim in this story, he has learned a valuable lesson about the conveniences of technology, telling the BBC, "I will probably get a normal key-based car and I'd be inclined to stay away from keyless cars, unless there is an improvement to the security on the cars or something that gives me more peace of mind."’
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