A new way to break into a vehicle? (1 Viewer)

[In The Zone]

My dad sent me this e-mail on how thieves are getting access to the inside of vehicles. Is this real? Please read the following and share your thoughts. I would really be interested to hear from some of our law enforcement guys.

How to Lock Your Car and Why I locked my car.

As I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car
again three times . Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear
it unlock again!!Naturally alarmed, I looked around and there were two guys
sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously
watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this
very weird situation. I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car
and sped away. I went straight to the police station, told them what had
happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme being
used to gain entry into cars. Two weeks later, my friend's son had a similar
happening...

While traveling, my friend's son stopped at a roadside rest to use the bathroom.
When he came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten
into his car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator,
briefcase.....you name it. He called the police and since there were no signs
of his car being broken into, the police told him he had been a victim of the
latest robbery tactic -- there is a device that robbers are using now to clone
your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your Key-chain
locking device..

They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are
going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and that they now have a few
minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car
door- by hitting the lock button inside the car -- that way if there is someone
sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim, it will not be you.

When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the
security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain, it
sends the code through the airwaves where it can be instantly stolen.

This is very real. Be wisely aware of what you just read and please pass this
note on. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote just to be
sure we remembered to lock them -- and bingo, someone has our code...and
whatever was in our car.

Snopes Approved --.Please share with everyone you know

Jay McElveen
Sent from my iPad

 

[Aerial Assault]

Thanks, Jay!

 

[In The Zone]

Thanks, Jay!

Try again. I'm not Jay. That was part of the copy and paste from the e-mail. Thanks for playing though.

 

[In The Zone]

And I damn sure don't own an Ipad. I'm android all the way.

 

[Schlzm]

And I damn sure don't own an Ipad. I'm android all the way.

Oh and we're supposed to trust a freaking biomass covered robot when it comes to the latest digital security exploits?!?Schlzm

https://www.google.com/#q=car+hacking+door+unlocker

 

[Ignoramus]

I got the same email from my Aunt Phyllis. Seems legit.

 

[GoFishTN]

Please read this, Grandma.

 

[Fat Nick]

I never buy into these "code grabber" concepts...primarily because if you're smart enough to get one of these things, you're probably smart enough to steal more than what I have in my car.

Petty thieves are thieves because they are lazy. Lazy thieves don't use high-technology to steal. That's too much effort, and it costs money. The odds of coming across a criminal this high-tech is so minute, I don't really know that I buy it.

Plus, if this is the case, and if you can just "grab" my code over the air, why does it still cost me $300 to replace a lost key fob?

 

[Niles Standish]

I have an older car and one time I locked it and it kept unlocking. I don't have a security code. Heck I can still copy my key for a couple bucks at the locksmith. That being said you never know.

 

[fruity pebbles]

they can have my coffee and half eaten donut

 

[Schlzm]

Please read this, Grandma.

http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/car-hacking-safety-without-security/

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

My dad sent me this e-mail...

Well there you go.

 

[jon_mx]

I never buy into these "code grabber" concepts...primarily because if you're smart enough to get one of these things, you're probably smart enough to steal more than what I have in my car.

Petty thieves are thieves because they are lazy. Lazy thieves don't use high-technology to steal. That's too much effort, and it costs money. The odds of coming across a criminal this high-tech is so minute, I don't really know that I buy it.

Plus, if this is the case, and if you can just "grab" my code over the air, why does it still cost me $300 to replace a lost key fob?

It could be part of organized crime. Probably the petty thief does not have access to such a device, but I don't see this as being that high tech. The reason it cost $300 because only your dealership has the proprietary code to unlock your car, so he can charge whatever he wants to.

 

[Schlzm]

I never buy into these "code grabber" concepts...primarily because if you're smart enough to get one of these things, you're probably smart enough to steal more than what I have in my car.

Petty thieves are thieves because they are lazy. Lazy thieves don't use high-technology to steal. That's too much effort, and it costs money. The odds of coming across a criminal this high-tech is so minute, I don't really know that I buy it.

Plus, if this is the case, and if you can just "grab" my code over the air, why does it still cost me $300 to replace a lost key fob?

It could be part of organized crime. Probably the petty thief does not have access to such a device, but I don't see this as being that high tech. The reason it cost $300 because only your dealership has the proprietary code to unlock your car, so he can change whatever he wants to.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/02/14/hack_a_car_with_a_devican_hacking_tool_smartphone_sized_device_made_of_20.html

For about $20, Javier Vazquez-Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera built a device that's smaller than a smartphone. If it's physically connected to a car, the device causes things like windows, headlights, and even crucial functions like brakes or power steering to malfunction. Cars have an onboard network called a Controller Area Network (CAN bus) that coordinates and operates all of these features. When attached, the hacking device draws power from the vehicle's electrical systems and connects to the CAN bus via four wires to input commands over Bluetooth from an attack computer. Vazquez-Vidal and Garcia Illera call the device the deviCAN Hacking Tool, or CHT.

 

[jon_mx]

This is something that began as an urban legend, but it seems is starting to be reality.

 

[comfortably numb]

i always leave my doors unlocked

 

[SacramentoBob]

I think it's more likely that the email from the Nigerian prince is true than this.

 

[Schlzm]

This is something that began as an urban legend, but it seems is starting to be reality.

It's very easy to blow this stuff off as old people being panicky because they don't understand technology but in all seriousness as more things become computerized and interconnected having your car or fridge hacked will be a reality. Suddenly it's all of you who don't understand the technology and being dismissive can and will bite you in the ###. I am currently performing research and submitting a large multiarea writeup to a very large technology company covering this.Schlzm

 

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

According to snopes this is possible but unlikely and without documented thefts. It seems to only be an issue if you own an older model car with auto remote control locks.

So far we haven't encountered any documented cases of items being stolen from locked cars via entry gained through the use of code grabbers, much less evidence that it's a widespread form of theft. There have been a few reported incidents of thieves' managing to gain entry to locked vehicles through the apparent use of some form of electronic device, but the specific nature of those devices has yet to be determined. In some similar cases it has been speculated that thieves who have been stealing purses and other valuables from parked vehicles have been using a device that blocks remote keyless signals and thus prevents car doors from locking (rather than using a device that emulates remote keyless signals to open locked doors).

 

[Schlzm]

According to snopes this is possible but unlikely and without documented thefts. It seems to only be an issue if you own an older model car with auto remote control locks.

So far we haven't encountered any documented cases of items being stolen from locked cars via entry gained through the use of code grabbers, much less evidence that it's a widespread form of theft. There have been a few reported incidents of thieves' managing to gain entry to locked vehicles through the apparent use of some form of electronic device, but the specific nature of those devices has yet to be determined. In some similar cases it has been speculated that thieves who have been stealing purses and other valuables from parked vehicles have been using a device that blocks remote keyless signals and thus prevents car doors from locking (rather than using a device that emulates remote keyless signals to open locked doors).

Last snopes update was almost a year ago, just a FYI.Schlzm

 

[In The Zone]

Alright guys. I was just asking.