Growing fear of keyless car theft
Stolen vehicle recovery expert TRACKER has revealed that 70% of people would not consider purchasing a keyless car due to fears over its security. The research follows recent Met data which found a 6.5% rise in the number of UK car thefts in the twelve months up to March 2015.
As the technology required to circumvent security systems in keyless vehicles is openly available and inexpensive to purchase online, TRACKER has echoed police calls for car owners to take added precautions when protecting their vehicle. Whilst traditional security methods, such as a steering wheel lock (30%) and a clutch pedal lock (22%), remain popular amongst vigilant car owners, the emergence of connection protection devices, essentially a steel box which covers the OBD port to prevent diagnostics access, is being recognised as a worthy security measure (25%). However, stolen vehicle tracking devices have significantly become the number one consideration (40%).
‘Car hacking has been an issue for a long time but the recent surge in cases of this nature have much to do with the accessibility of these devices, which can be freely purchased online for as little as £20,’ explains Andy Barrs, police liaison officer at TRACKER. ‘Whilst the evolution of car technology has made everyday life easier for car owners, its sophistication is not outsmarting thieves, indeed it could be making their lives easier.’
‘Whilst a tracking unit won’t prevent your car from being stolen by thieves in the first instance, it does increase the chances of your car being located and returned to you by up to 95%. Furthermore, with 86% of stolen cars returned to their rightful owner within 24 hours of being stolen, TRACKER’s own product could prove the difference between a vehicle being found and returned or never seen again. It is for this reason that ours is the only SVR product used by all the UK’s police forces,’ concludes Andy Barrs.
