https://www.latimes.com/california/s...IwWo0w6Jmrn7SQ
Yea, been seeing this a lot on Camaro the Camaro site I frequent. I am not sure how they are doing it, but it sounds like they read your key fob from their device. Guys are putting their fobs in faraday bags to prevent this. Another thing I see is guys are removing or putting locks on their OBD2 diagnostic port. I guess once they read your key, they plug into your port. Seems pretty crazy to me, although I like the idea of keeping the fob in a faraday bag when your car is sitting at the house.
Anyone know exactly what they are using? Where my car thieves at!
-Geoff
I purchased a faraday box off Amazon for $40 and keep all of my modern car keys/fobs in there when not in use. It works.
The problem is that your keyfob broadcasts 24x7. The only thing keeping it from unlocking/starting your car at night (or when not in use) is signal degradation due to distance between the fob & car. Bad Guys simply have a 2-man system where one approaches your home's backdoor/kitchen area (where most people leave their keys at night) with a microphone... and the tool relays the keyfob signal to 2nd man that has the speaker next to the car. Think of it like 2 guys with FRS walkie talkies where one sneaks up close your house where your keys are likely laying about... keys the walkie talkie... picks up your keyfob... and plays the keyfob broadcast on the 2nd walkie talkie that is next to the car. All your car knows is that the legit encrypted keyfob signal is strong/close and that's OK to open/unlock/start your car.
That article talks about key cloning which is probably another technique... but keyfob radio relay tactic is pretty simply and effective. No, you cannot use FRS radios... but there are setups designed to do the same for the keyfob radio frequencies.
My understanding is any of the newer "keyless" fob setups are all based off the same tech. So it's just a rinse and repeat cycle for any vehicle they choose to steal. Unfortunately it's a negative side effect of the convenience of push button start. Thieves will always have sticky fingers. Best to be proactive in preventing theft.