Hackers still targeting high-end vehicles
Car hackers are continuing to target high-tech cars in London, warns stolen vehicle recovery expert TRACKER.
The latest victim from South Kensington had their 2015 Range Rover Evoque stolen from outside their home on the 1st October. The owner realised the vehicle had been stolen when he received a movement alert from TRACKER. Immediately the police were alerted to the theft and the vehicle was located and recovered within just 12 minutes.
‘Expensive ‘keyless’ cars, such as Range Rovers, are regularly targeted by organised criminal gangs,’ explained Andy Barrs, police liaison officer for TRACKER. ‘There is certainly a new breed of hi-tech car thief operating who use the latest technology to circumvent security systems. Already this year we have recovered nearly 60 stolen Land Rover marques, of which just over 50 were stolen without keys. As the popularity of keyless systems has increased, criminals have been buying equipment online that is able to re-programme keys. The equipment being used to steal a vehicle in this way is actually legitimate and used by workshops to carry out routine maintenance, so it is proving challenging for manufacturers to stop this type of theft happening.’
‘As this latest Land Rover to be stolen was fitted with a TRACKER Cat 5 Plus system, it allowed us to provide the Met police with the exact location of the car via GPS. Although the thieves had put on false registration plates it certainly didn’t fool the police and they were able to make a swift recovery,’ continued Andy Barrs. ‘Whilst fitting a tracking unit won’t prevent a vehicle being stolen, it could prove the difference between it being found and returned to its owner or never being seen again. It is for this reason that TRACKER’s stolen vehicle recovery product is the only one to be used by all the UK’s police forces.’
TRACKER’s stolen vehicle recovery systems work like an electronic homing device. A covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around the vehicle. There is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there. Unlike other devices, TRACKER’s unique technology can locate stolen vehicles anywhere, even when they are hidden in a garage, container or underground car park.
