Auto theft: be careful with your smart key!
The smart keys that come with many new car models can make your vehicle an easier target for thieves. The data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is eloquent: none of the 10 vehicle models stolen most often in Quebec in 2020 were more than four years old.
The IBC recently published its list of the top ten cars most sought after by thieves in 2020. Big surprise: Toyota and Lexus, which dominated the top ten in 2019, were in large part replaced by Honda. Three CR-V model years were on the podium as well as two model years for the Civic and one for the Accord. The Lexus NX and RX, the Toyota Highlander, and the Ford F-150 rounded out the list.
What do all these models have in common? Apart from being pickups or SUVs–the Accord and Civic excepted–they all date back no farther than 2016. And in most cases, they’re equipped with smart keys that allow you to unlock and start your car with a push of a button.
Smart keys, an unsuspected weak link
We’ve all seen it in the movies: a thief unlocks a car door with a clothes hanger, connects a few wires under the dash, and speeds away. Now that many cars come with smart keys, such messy and sometimes time-consuming techniques are largely obsolete.
Some thieves now use an amplifier to capture the signal from the smart key, usually kept near the door to the house, and drive away with the car as if they owned it. Most times, they can drive for as long as they like, bypassing the integrated antitheft mechanisms, until they shut off the engine—which makes it easy to deliver the vehicle to a place where it can be prepared for export or stripped for parts.
How can you guard against these “electronic” thefts?
Fortunately, there’s an easy and inexpensive way to protect your car. The trick is to keep the smart key signal out of reach so thieves can’t amplify it. Here are three ways to do this:
- Keep the key in a case or pouch that blocks RFID radio frequencies.
- Put the key in a closed metal box.
- Keep the key in a central upstairs or basement location, far from windows and exterior doors.
CAA-Quebec’s Automotive Advisory Services, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, or your insurer can tell you if your car is particularly popular with thieves. If so, you may want to consider equipping it with a satellite tracking system to help authorities find it in case of theft. The good news is that a growing number of models are factory equipped with a telematics system that can do the same thing, relaying the car's position to a smartphone app.
Other simple anti-theft tips
- Avoid parking in remote or poorly lit areas.
- Put on the emergency brake to make it harder for thieves to tow your vehicle.
- Store valuables in the trunk, ideally before you leave home.
- Be sure to lock your vehicle’s doors before you walk away.
- Have key components of your car engraved.
- Use a physical anti-theft device such as a steering wheel bar.
What should you do if your car is stolen?
In order: call the police, get a friend or family member to pick you up and take you home, and then call your insurer. Your insurer will tell you how to obtain a replacement vehicle, if that option is included in your policy. They will also explain what to do if there were valuables in the car, because they will be covered by your home insurance.