Without any doubt, keyless cars are more convenient as you don’t have to carry a key around all the time. But at the same time, these cars are at a bigger risk of theft than the other traditional ones. As per reports, four out of five keyless car models are at a risk from “keyless theft”. For someone new to this concept, it can be very confusing to tell how someone can steal your car when they don’t have the key to it. Well, this type of theft is also referred to as “Relay theft” where a device is used to pick the signal of the key for the so-called “keyless car”. What happens is that the device directly transmits the signal to the person standing outside the victim’s car. Then they use that signal to fool the car making it think that the key is near and that’s when the car’s doors open and the ignition starts.
In order to capture the signal, the thief just has to be a few meters far to capture the signal from your keys and this entire process won’t take anyone more than 20 to 30 seconds. With the passage of time, relay theft cases are increasing and if you own a keyless car, you should know about some precautionary measures that can save you from such a nightmare.
Here’s what you can do to protect your keyless car from relay theft;
1-Use a blocking pouch to keep your car keys
The best way to make sure your car is safe is to protect the keys to it first. Especially if you have a keyless car, keep all the keys away from the doors and windows of your house. To ensure that no device can catch the signals, keep your keys in a tin bag or some foil pouch and do the same with the spare set of keys you’ve kept for emergencies. Here we’d suggest you buy a Faraday bag, it’s a special signal blocking pouch with layers of metallic material to keep the keys safe.
2-Use a car alarm or some steering wheel lock
Yes, it’s true that the wheel lock is an old-school thing but when it comes to protecting your valuables, you shouldn’t shy away from using that old thing. Most modern thieves bring laptops and other digital or electronic devices with them but what they don’t bring are mechanical tools. In a nutshell, the thief might be able to fool your keyless car and open it with his electronic device but the steering wheel lock will keep your car safe as it would require a lot of time and multiple tools for the thief to fight that lock. Also, yes, using a car alarm means investing some money but as it’s for the safety of your car you should definitely think about it. The alarm will immediately alert you if someone tries to force open your car using any device.
3-Park defensively
The best thing to do is to park your car in the garage overnight and then do a security check or call a locksmith to ensure that all the locks are working just fine. But in case you don’t have a garage, park your keyless car as near your house as possible to make the access difficult for the thief.
4-Turning off the keyless FOBs wireless signal
If you have a keyless fob, you can easily switch off the wireless signal on it. Don’t know how to do that? Read the manual that comes with the key and it will all be clear for you. In case you don’t find any information about how to switch off the wireless signal, just contact your vehicle’s manufacturer and get it done right away.
These are some of the best ways to protect your keyless car from thieves. However, as locks are your first line of defense, you should consider calling a locksmith right away and get all your locks checked.
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