How they steal your car

Some thieves use technology to grab your vehicle. Others are more violent

Nishan Ahluwalia woke up on a January morning to a shock. His new Range Rover was gone from the driveway of his Brampton home.

To his surprise, the thieves had somehow evaded detection, bypassing the motion-sensor security cameras watching the driveway — leaving no sign that the luxury SUV had ever been there before it was stolen around 1:30 a.m., while Ahluwalia, a realtor, was working in the basement.

The last trace of the vehicle was recorded in the Range Rover app. It led Ahluwalia and police to a nearby truck yard — but his vehicle was gone.

“We couldn’t find any conclusion about what really happened,” he told the Star, only able to guess that the thieves had somehow intercepted the signal from his car’s key fob.

“I left the key in the kitchen, which is not far from my garage, and I guess they picked up the signal, programmed it and just drove it off.”

Stories like Ahluwalia’s are increasingly common across the GTA, as police and politicians warn about a wave of car thefts involving a variety of methods. Some thefts use “sophisticated” techniques, like intercepting a key fob. Others are “crimes of opportunity.” And, frighteningly, a growing number are armed and violent, such as the gunpoint carjacking of Maple Leafs star winger Mitch Marner last week.

Once a vehicle is stolen, thieves typically disarm or remove any GPS devices and then — after a “cooling off” period — take them to shipping containers in ports in Montreal or Halifax, destined for lucrative markup in overseas markets.

To help you understand what’s behind the rise in vehicle theft, the Star spoke to police and industry experts about the main ways, both new and old, thieves are stealing cars in the GTA.

Violence

The most alarming thefts are often the least sophisticated. Across the region, police are reporting a rise in armed carjackings, often involving guns, sometimes happening out in the open in public places.

Videos released by police this year depict robbers confronting vehicle owners almost anywhere: in packed parking garages, busy outdoor lots in daytime, or in the middle of an intersection after a staged accident meant to make a targeted vehicle stop, giving armed robbers the chance to force the owner from the vehicle.

Carjackings — like the high-profile robbery of Marner’s Range Rover outside an Etobicoke movie theatre — happen “most commonly with high-end vehicles,” said acting Det. Sgt. Mark Haywood of Peel’s commercial auto crime unit, noting that GTA cars can sell for more than twice their value on the black market in countries like Nigeria, South Africa or Lebanon.

“These are organizations that are formed exclusively for car theft,” Peel Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said in April, estimating for the police board that a typical sale could bring organized crime groups anywhere from $80,000 to more than $100,000. “They’ve become incredibly sophisticated. ”

Not all carjackings are for the resale value — “you also see these vehicles being used in drive-by shootings and robberies,” Haywood added.

On Friday, Toronto Mayor John Tory called for a partnership with provincial and federal governments to help tackle the rise in armed carjackings. According to Tory, city police have reported 93 such incidents already this year, up from just 21 by this time in 2021, the largest increase of any major crime.

Breaking into and hacking your car

Newer models take different tricks and devices to steal, Haywood said.

For some brands, like the Toyota Highlander and certain Lexus SUVs, thieves seem to find it easier to get into the vehicle without activating the alarm system, he said. Once inside, they’ll plug in an XTool — a key programmer — into the car’s on-board diagnostics port, typically located under the steering wheel.

It’s the same port mechanics use to diagnose issues with the vehicle’s systems, but it can also be used to program a blank key fob to match the vehicle. In most models, that new fob is enough to enable the push-start ignition.

Other models require a bit of finesse. For instance, some new Ford F-150 models sound an alarm if you tamper with the door — so thieves first stick a specialized rod through the front grill to disconnect the power to the horn. Next, they’ll damage the door lock to get in, then access the diagnostic port and reprogram a new fob.

“This can be done in a matter of two to five minutes,” Haywood said.

Signal-amplifying devices

Sometimes, thieves don’t need to physically get into the car to program a new fob. They can just use yours.

It’s known as a “relay attack,” where thieves use a device to amplify the signal coming from the fob sitting inside your home.

Haywood described a device that intercepts and captures the signal, allowing thieves to make a duplicate fob. It requires costly technology and you have to be “somewhat of a whiz with it,” Haywood said, noting that devices to capture the signal can be bought on the black market for upwards of $15,000.

Bryan Gast, vice-president of investigative services at Equité Association, said an increasing number of vehicles are being stolen through this kind of technology. (The Star’s Kevin Donovan documented one such case last year, following the theft of his Toyota).

“There are legitimate reasons why key fobs are reprogrammed” by mechanics or dealers, Gast said. “But these criminals have access to those tools and they’re doing the same thing to steal the cars.”

Thefts of opportunity

There are several factors behind the rise in violent or sophisticated car thefts, but many thefts are still quite simple.

Often, thieves are simply taking a car that’s been left unattended and running, Haywood said. He warned especially about warm-up thefts, where thieves take a car that’s been left running to warm up in the winter, and of the risk of leaving a car running and unattended for a quick trip into your home, or a store. (Never leave your vehicle’s engine running while unattended, Gast said.)

In March, Toronto warned of another trend in low-tech, low-effort thefts, following a rash of thefts of car keys from private gym lockers.

Other thefts make use of relatively inexpensive consumer technology, such as Apple’s AirTag devices, which are designed to help people track lost items.

Late last year, York Regional Police noted a string of incidents in which thieves attached the keychain-sized devices to high-end vehicles, using them to track the car to a residential driveway where it could be stolen.

(Since these reports, Apple has said it is working with law enforcement to address concerns about AirTags being used for unwanted tracking, including taking steps to alert people to an unwanted AirTag nearby).

How to protect yourself

The No. 1 rule is to never, ever, fight back.

“If someone attempts to steal your car, please give it up,” Toronto police Insp. Richard Harris said Tuesday at a news conference after Marner’s carjacking. Marner simply let the armed thieves take his Range Rover — the only smart choice.

“Do not resist. Do not argue or fight. Your safety is worth more than your car,” Harris said.

Beyond that, vehicle owners won’t find it comforting to know there’s little you can do to stop a talented or determined thief, but the experts agree there are several things you can do to make it more difficult.

“Anything you can do to make it more difficult for the thieves to steal your vehicle, go ahead and do it,” said Gast, emphasizing basics like never leaving the key in the ignition or extra keys inside the vehicle; always closing the windows and locking the doors; parking in well-lit areas; and, if possible, parking inside a locked garage.

For owners who have the option, Haywood also suggests parking a less desirable vehicle in front of a higher-end car in a driveway. Another step, he said, is to add a lock to block access to a car’s diagnostics port.

Nadia Matos, a media and public relations consultant for CAA South Central Ontario, said car owners should always consider investing in anti-theft devices that can make it a little harder for would-be thieves.

A steering wheel lock can stop a thief from driving your car. An electronic alarm can make noise and deter unauthorized entry. Car owners should ensure their vehicles have an immobilizer — an electronic security device that only starts the engine if the correct key is present, preventing thieves from hotwiring a vehicle the old-fashioned way. Getting a kill switch professionally installed in the vehicle is also helpful.

Matos echoed police advice to keep keys far away from doors and out of range from any amplification device.

“If your car has a wireless key fob, keep it in a Faraday box or pouch to block its signal, which prevents it from being hijacked,” she said, adding that installing a GPS tracking device on your vehicle can help locate and recover it, if it’s stolen. (A Faraday box is a container that blocks your key fob’s signals from escaping.)

The reality is that owners may not be able to do much to stop a thief, especially an armed thief.

That’s why Haywood puts the onus on vehicle manufacturers to improve vehicle security features to make thefts more difficult.

Theft prevention technology has not advanced as fast as other luxury features, Haywood said.

“Until we make vehicles harder to steal, we’re always going to see this problem.”

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If someone attempts to steal your car, please give it up. Do not resist. Do not argue or fight. Your safety is worth more than your car.

TORONTO POLICE INSP. RICHARD HARRIS