In Sweden, police have become aware that car thieves are now breaking into even brand new cars in just a few seconds. The technique is simple.
It takes a few seconds and then the car is gone. Maybe forever.
This is reality on the other side of the Øresund, where the Swedes are currently fighting against car thieves' newest tool.
– You probably think it's embarrassing that it's so easy to steal such an expensive car, says police inspector Nicklas Gorton to Sydsvenska Dagbladet .
The method is relatively simple. With a new piece of software, the thief or thieves manipulate the car's locking system into believing that the owner is nearby with the key. And even though the real key and thus the owner may be very far away.
In this way, the car opens both the doors and makes it possible to start the engine without further ado.
– The CAN bus system is actually the car's electronic nervous system. And it's no harder for criminals to exploit it.
– It is not possible to steal cars with a screwdriver and a paving stone like before.
Now you have to manipulate the cars in other ways, says Fredrik Lindstedt, investigation inspector at Larmtjänst, a collaboration between the Swedish insurance companies and the police, to Sydsvenskan.
The police even admit that you don't need to be an IT expert to steal cars in this new way. The tool is both user-friendly and simple when it ends up in the hands of the wrong people.
In Sweden, the police even suspect that the cars that have already been reported stolen by manipulating the locking system have long since left the country.
Larmtjänst's website has compiled a complete list of the car brands and models that are stolen. Many of the thefts involve Toyota and the sub-brand Lexus. Read more about it here .
In the past, thieves have also used so-called 'jammers' that either intercept or inhibit the signal from a car's remote locking mechanism. This makes it just as easy to break in and drive away with even a brand new car.
