The method "for a suitcase" is less and less effective.There is a new list of cars resistant to this trick of thieves

A thief at home

The cunning system of access to the car first appeared in 1998.And although it was initially reserved for the most expensive cars, it is available today in most models offered in the showrooms.Thanks to it, the car owner can unlock the door and then start the engine without pulling the keys out of the pocket.Unfortunately, thieves have a facilitated task at the same time, who developed the appropriate devices and a method of very easy theft.

Do jej zorganizowania potrzebne są dwie osoby i dwa elektroniczne urządzenia — zwykle zamykane w małej torbie czy neseserze.The attack occurs after parking, often under the house of its owner.One of the thieves is approaching the door or window with a device that captures the signal broadcast from the key to the car.The second thief stands by the car with a device that receives a signal from the first criminal and strengthens it.Due to these treatments, the electronics of the car are cheated, which behaves as if a rightful owner stood at the door with original keys.Everything lasts several dozen seconds.

Złodzieje dostają się do auta bez konieczności forsowania zamków i uruchamiają silnik za pomocą przycisku — jak prawowity właściciel.Interestingly, for safety reasons, interruption of communication between the keys and the car cannot cause the engine to be turned off, so criminals can run off with prey as long as the fuel supply in the bak.

Late reaction

Over the years, thieves could use the "suitcase" method at will.The culmination was 2017, when the German ADAC Automobile Club publicly announced the results of its research.None of the models tested at the time resisted the "suitcase" method.It could be assumed that after such information, car manufacturers will rush to develop new security.However, the revolution did not occur.

In 2018.Land Rover and Jaguar have announced that they are implementing a technology that is to be a remedy for trouble -free access.Only a year later similar systems were developed by some other manufacturers.Today, a list of models resistant to a new method of thieves is getting longer and new cars have just joined it.

Safer cars

The British laboratory Thatcham Research tested the first in 2020.Party of 13 cars.Traditional theft resistance was checked, as well as crimes with the "suitcase" method.Among the models that could not be traced through electronic devices, were:

Three of the cars tested by Thatcham Research proved to be prone to the "suitcase" method.They were:

In 2019, a list of "What Car?"cars that resisted the theft with the "suitcase" method included the following models: Audi TT RS Roadster, BMW X3 XDrive20i M SPORT, Ford Fiesta 1.0 ECOBOOST 140 ST-LINE X, LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SD6 306 HSE, MERCEDES CLASS A A220 AMG LINE.However, it should be remembered that even the cars on the list are safe only under certain conditions.

How to understand tests?

Tests carried out by Thatcham Research assumed to check producer protection against the "suitcase" method in accordance with their way of acting.And this one can be very different.

The most popular group of concerns is placing a motion sensor in the key.When this one does not detect the location of the keys for a certain period of time, it turns off communication with the car.This is to protect against theft after leaving the keys, e.g..in a coat hanged just behind the entrance door of the house.The time founded by the manufacturers between the last key movement and the exclusion of communication with the car can, however, be very different - from 40 seconds for Ford Fiesta up to 15 minutes for Audi TT.This gives potential thieves completely different possibilities.

Another way to secure the car by the manufacturer is to introduce a new communication standard.In the case of Land Rovers and Jaguars, a simultaneous signal with extremely distant frequencies was chosen.Currently, tests show that this is an effective way of security.However, wireless communication is not completely turned off here.It is therefore possible that in the future criminals will develop devices that allow them to cross such protection.

How can you deal with your own?The easiest way is to hold the keys away from the door and windows - in the center of the house.A better method is shielding the keys when the vehicle is parked.For this purpose, you can use a metal container or a special case - both ways create a cover blocking the signal sent by the keys, and thus prevent it from capturing it.Although this is not very convenient, the theft of a car will be a much more problem.