You know how in movies and TV shows you watch people break into cars by jimmying open the lock and hot wiring it to make their getaway? Perhaps those might have been methods that used to work back in the day, and during the process there was always the possibility that they could get caught in the act.
Fast forward to today and it’s an entirely different story. A report from The Wall Street Journal has revealed that car thieves these days are getting more sophisticated and that breaking into a car and stealing it could be as easy as using a laptop to hack into the car remotely, unlocking it and starting the car’s engine.
What this means is that thieves just need to walk up to the car and drive off and no one would think otherwise as it looks pretty innocent. This report comes on the heels of a video which was released which shows how a 2010 Jeep Wrangler was stolen from the owner’s driveway. This was followed by a rash of similar thefts in the Houston area in the following weeks.
According to Senior Officer James Woods of the Houston Police Department, “We don’t know what he is exactly doing with the laptop, but my guess is he is tapping into the car’s computer and marrying it with a key he may already have with him so he can start the car.”