For those folks who aren’t in the habit of following discussions in our forums, I thought I should highlight a discussion that recently took place in our Crime and Safety forum about some possible car breaks that may have taken place by activating or emulating the owner’s key fob – essentially effecting an electronic entry, a break-in without the break.
On November 19, wallingfordsince89 wrote:
We truly believe our car was locked, but even so it was broken into overnight. It looks like the thief might have used some kind of technology to get our keys inside the house to send a signal to the car on the street. We lost an expensive pair of sunglasses, our ipod and a nice grocery shopping bag. The thief left a small speaker for an iphone and a pencil from a tree service. Everything was scattered through the car, especially the contents of our very basic (no drugs but tylenol) first aid kit. The thief was not interested in our crank-operated emergency radio or in our dog’s fetch-toys. I think of myself as pretty tough, but discovered that I was upset enough just at the violation, the intrusion and to some extent the scariness that I discovered a few tear as I was cleaning up the mess.
This was followed up by a post Drsteam on November 21:
My CRV was also rifled early Saturday morning 11/19 at n 42nd and eastern. I too thought it was locked. They took a bunch of quarters and a few beers but left behind sunglasses, dirty towels and dog toys. Stuff strew everywhere. Interesting that they might use the fob remotely. It’s the third time this year but at least they didn’t smoke a cigarette inside this weekend.
Donn then pointed us to a New York Times article from last year which, in part, discusses devices intended to cause your key fob to trigger the doors in your car to open. The author of the NYT piece, Nick Bilton, then suggests – only partly in jest – that owners may want to keep their car keys in the freezer to block any incoming signals and thwart this sort of mischief. This would offer no protection against a device that TJ linked to which replicates the signal sent by your key fob, and allows the thief access to your car as if he had a fob. This little gizmo also allows entry into garages by triggering garage door openers to open.
I looked into some of these items myself. Some keyless entry systems which require a keypress on a fob, engage in a complicated back and forth of encrypted transmissions with your car. This transmission can’t be hijacked unless someone obtains the encryption key, but if the encryption sequence is not very long, it’s possible for someone with an ordinary computer to “guess” the key by trial and error. Apparently, some car makers have opted for encryption keys of the short variety.
Perhaps a simpler means of breaking into cars without doing any actual, physical breaking, is to take advantage of shortcomings with proximity keys, also sometimes known as “smart keys.” These keys are the type used to open Priuses and a number of other, newer cars. They require only that the owner be nearby the automobile in order for the doors to unlock and the engine to be enabled. By boosting the signal from these types of keys, the car can be made to believe that the owner is nearby resulting in the doors unlocking and the engine being readied to start. An article in the Guardian from 2014 discusses some insurance companies in Great Britain that were denying theft coverage to owners who had to park in the street because of this method of theft.
The “Rolljam” device alluded to by TJ is a technology designed to defeat button press keyless entry systems. Simply put, this device records the code transmitted by your fob when you open your door. Later, this transmission can be broadcast by the thief to open the doors when you’re not around. However, the technology is more sophisticated than that. Cars use what is effectively a list of codes for opening the doors, and when one has been used, the car – and the fob – electronically agree to use the next one. The Rolljam device works by blocking (or “jamming”) the signal from the fob when you press the button to open the doors. At the same time though, the device records that signal. When you press again in a second attempt to unlock your car, the device records this second attempt, and simultaneously transmits the first attempt to the car. It’s this first code that causes your doors to open, and the car advances to the next code on the list – even though that has already been transmitted by the fob and recorded by the thief.
In the face of all this, what’s a car owner to do? I perused the advice offered by SPD, and you’ve probably heard most of it. A couple of items drew my attention: park with your parking brake set and your wheels turned into the curb. Other tips from SPD are here.
Jack, thanks for helping me get the word out. My husband and I now have bought $20 “RFID” pouches for our car keys. We tested them by pressing the “open” buttons on the car keys when the keys are in the pouch, and nothing happened. So the pouches work, but they are a real pain to open and close and to remember to use.
I will be looking for attractive metal boxes we can keep on our nightstands. My hope is that a brass barrier will do the trick just as well as a fridge or microwave, (see NYT article) but if anybody knows that a brass box won’t work, please post!
So this happened to us the night of November 18th/morning of the 19th. It was exactly as the others said: stuff strewn everywhere. They left a flashlight and took a credit card that I didn’t know I left in there and tried to use it. It was parked in an alley with an automatic gate. The gate was left open. Both our gate opener and car keys are in a drawer near our car so it could be they remotely access them.
What car make/model/years has this happened to so far?
I am truly sorry to read about all these incidents. No one deserves to be violated like this. A couple thoughts to share:
1. REPORT, REPORT, REPORT…the police are unlikely to show up for a car prowl unless there’s some kind of major damage or outright car theft. Even in the most extreme cases it can take hours and hours for the police to respond. Nevertheless, please report every one of these incidents because statistics drive police coverage and they will send more officers to areas with notable spikes.
2. About those police response times…we have higher property crime rates and fewer police than other cities our size or larger. The mayor has announced a goal of hiring hundreds more police but the hiring pace is not going well. Please remember that every local politician calling for diverting money from public safety is helping to perpetuate this issue (Sawant and O’Brien come to mind). Do we need trained police who are equal in how they treat people of all color? Yes, that’s inarguable. Do we need a Taj Mahal police precinct building? No, but we need something. BUT WHAT WE NEED ULTIMATELY IS MORE POLICE. Please remember this when you talk to your elected officials and when you vote.
Thank you and good luck out there.
I wrapped my keyless fob with aluminum foil. I was unable to unlock the car from my porch, as I could if it was bare. I think a fold of foil would work until something better is found.
Nice life hack! I’m going to try that.
I’ve been in Wallingford for roughly 25 years, and have suffered through the inevitable car prowls and such both north and south of 45th. But it has become much much worse in the last couple of years, especially where I am, adjacent to John Stanford International. And lately, things have taken a creepier turn, what with the apparent arson and subsequent burglary down the street, even more frequent car incidents, and encounters with unfamiliar figures in the darkness of fall and winter. I get that it is no crime to use the streets and sidewalks any hour of the day, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not unnerving to encounter strangers hanging out in the early morning hours. My housemate found someone standing in the dark near her car a couple of weeks ago and was sufficiently spooked to go back inside and wait before commuting to work. Last week, my neighbor found a bag next to his car with odd items in it, including obvious break-in tools. So in addition to smash-and-grabs, electronic code-breaking, we have to contend with older-fashioned picks and jimmies too. Don’t know what the solution is, but it is patently obvious that the mayor and city council are clueless as well.
4 cars stolen in a 1 block radius from my apt in November.. that i know of, 1 rifling & 1 smashed windshield… what the heck!
For what it’s worth…here is a public safety survey being conducted by Seattle U for the city (I think). It is lengthier than one would like and has a lot related to policing in Seattle, but it is a way to voice your perceptions about goings-on in the ‘hood.
http://publicsafetysurvey.org/index.html
Many thanks for posting this link. I didn’t find the survey over-long at all. I am pleased that it is comprehensive and I would encourage everyone who is concerned about public safety issues, whether they relate to personal safety or property, to participate. Thanks again!
Unfortunately, your input was likely not collected as the survey closed yesterday.
11/30 was the last day the survey was open. The survey is now closed.