The National Insurance Crime Bureau located in the States released a report regarding a mysterious device that car thieves are using to break into locked vehicles without any drama.
Speculation of a mystery device started to circulate after several security videos of thieves made their way into cars by simply opening the door handle.
After finally getting hold of the device through a third party security agent, they were able to test it on a variation of cars that made use of a frequency-based fob found in most new cars today.
The testing took place over a two week period with 35 cars, of which they were able to open 19 and start 18.
The device is said to be restricted to law enforcement, insurance agencies and manufacturers for testing purposes but many thieves are managing to get their hands on this relay attacker online. Some are even constructing their own devices as purchasing one could cost up to R825 000.
Sadly, the NICB does not have a solution to prevent this sort of theft but it does advise drivers to ensure that their vehicles are locked before leaving them and always keep an eye out for suspicious characters as the device can only be used in close proximity.
