Thieves in India using high-tech devices to steal luxury cars like Audi, BMW & Mercedes-Benz

High-tech digital security systems have not been able to keep car thieves at bay simply because they are now keeping up, with high tech tools, to carry out thefts. Delhi Police has revealed that thieves are using high-end hacking tools that helps them break into a car in just five minutes. The worst part is that these devices are now easily available in the market and a lot of carjackers have started using it.

Delhi Police says that with these new devices, even a novice auto lifter can easily gain access to any high-end vehicle. The devices used by carjackers bypass the Engine Control Module (ECM) of the vehicles and it becomes extremely difficult to safeguard vehicles against such thefts. The devices can cost anything between Rs. 30,000 to a few lakhs and are available online or at workshops. Such devices are used by car workshops to unlock vehicles that have been locked accidentally with the key inside the vehicle. Such devices can also start the engine, read error codes and give access to the car’s computer system.

The high-end versions of such devices can also intercept the radio signal between the remote key and the car. The security key between the remote and a car’s central locking system is copied to a system or computer and then it is used it to unlock the vehicle. The devices can also bypass the engine immobilizer system that stops the engine from starting if the key is not original. The system copies the code from the key and then the device interacts with the car’s computer to set up a new key. The whole process is not time-consuming and is used extensively by car thieves in many western countries. Even many Hollywood movies show the use of such devices.

The revelation comes after Delhi Police arrested three carjackers from South Delhi. The group used to target high-end cars in Delhi-NCR, disable the security system and bypass the ECM and immobilizer to steal the vehicle easily.

Pankaj Kumar Singh, DCP (East) said,

 “Apart from the availability of the advanced sophisticated tools, the tutorials related to immobilizer hacking for lost keys or swapped ECU are giving a free hand to the auto-lifters in upgrading themselves technologically. A few incidents were reported in which it was seen that the criminals stole four vehicles in just two days. All the vehicles had security gadgets which were hard to tamper with. But by using the device, they were able to unlock the security system.”

To safeguard vehicles against such thefts, people can install a GPS tracking device in the vehicle. There are many GPS tracking device available in the market that can be wired into car’s system. Such devices notify users about engine starts, car speeds and if the car goes beyond a certain pre-fixed point. These devices can also remotely switch off the ignition of the vehicle.

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