Thieves Love Your Push-Button Ignition

Chevy key fob (Credit: Chevrolet)

Do you love not having to dig out keys to get in your car and start up the engine? Thieves do too, and that’s bad. Even more concerning, per a recent Automotive News report, a new “mystery device” is almost impossible to stop.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) tested this theft tech. It essentially steals the signal from a fob, then uses it to let criminals in your car. From there, they can usually start the engine and just drive off. NICB went to a few CarMax dealers and tried the tech out on 35 vehicles with keyless entry/ignition. They were able to get into 19 cars, and started the engine on 18 of them.

Basically, criminals can climb into your vehicle and drive it like they own it. The tech gets around engine immobilizers, alarms and all the other security devices you might have, except for maybe a Trunk Monkey. There’s absolutely nothing to make people think a car’s being stolen.

If this doesn’t worry you, it should. Even if you don’t have a car with keyless entry/ignition, it’s becoming a more common feature. Plus, all these clean getaways could skyrocket insurance rates.

For understandable reasons, NICB isn’t saying what the “mystery device” is or what makes and models are susceptible to it.