Locked car stolen without keys...

[CookieMonster]

My 2021 Tucson was stolen from outside my house last night. I haven't even had it 1 month.

My CCTV shows it being quickly entered and driven away as if the thieves had a key - yet I have both keys in my house and locked it with the main fob about 15 mins before the theft which can be proved as lights flash/mirrors fold.

No alarm went off and clearly the immobiliser did f all...

I had set up the car on the Bluelink app but now it is not there..

I had been away from home for a few nights in another part of the UK and nobody would have known my arrival time home - unless they could see my Navigation data showing ETA to Home destination...

Thoughts please????

[crisagatie]

This sounds like a key relay attack, that is, when thieves catch the key fob signal with a radio transponder and relay it to another device near the car. It can also be achieved with a can-bus injection method (no key necessary) if Hyundai skimped on encrypted can-bus communications. Basically, thieves take out one headlight or other device connected to the can bus and connect their own device there to gain control of the vehicle's systems.

[CookieMonster]

Thanks for the quick reply, although I'm struggling to understand this. What's a can-bus? And when you say 'take out a headlight' - are you saying that the car would have to have been tampered with on a previous occasion to fit something? I wasn't aware of anything unusual e.g. a light not working and would the diagnostics not have alerted this when I started the car?
What about Bluelink - can someone easily have hacked into that as I don't look at it often but was surprised to see no vehicle listed anymore.
Might Hyundai have this data logged do you think?

[optzeci]

To me it sounds like a relay attack. Are you keeping your keys inside your house without any protection, like inside a Faraday cage (be it something designed for that purpose or a metal box)?

On your CCTV did you only see one person getting in your car or did you see a second one joining him later? Did you see someone getting closer to your house with some kind of cable antenna?

[CookieMonster]

I can't see the moment on the dark CCTV when somebody enters the car but I need to analyse on a big screen. Just the person unlocking it and supposedly handing something to whoever got in the car.
I don't know anything about Faraday things and nobody suggested when I bought it that this car might be vulnerable e.g. susceptible to theft despite alarm/immobiliser/key fob locking.
Should they have done?

[CookieMonster]

Nobody seen on CCTV lurking nearby. How far would someone have to be with whatever device they have?
And how would they know the car would be there at that time considering I'd been away for days?

[pecon]

Having been a car owner from the days when the only thing you needed was a crook lock. (now there's a thought !) and having seen videos of just how easy it is to steal modern cars using scanners I keep my keys in a metal key box in the hall. I'm not sure how effective that is as my wife keeps hers in her handbag next to the bed so they may be in range as I'm not sure what the range of these things is.

[Indalo1]

I have both keys in my house and locked it with the main fob about 15 mins before the theft which can be proved as lights flash/mirrors fold.

This is very worrying!

Relay theft requires 2 persons but such a method demands that the device used to pick up a signal from inside the house can actually find one. Faraday protection should prevent the thieves from discerning a signal from the keys if they are inside a functioning Faraday box or pouch.

Can I ask if you simply locked the car from the fob or whether you utilised the button-press sequence which disables keyless entry?

I’m guessing that, like ‘obtzeci’, this was indeed a relay theft and that can only occur if the thieves were able pick up a signal from your keys inside the house. The tedious but effective methodology involved in disabling keyless entry would probably have protected the car, had the keys been shielded by Faraday protection. Sadly, there are other electronic means that may have been deployed to gain entry and allow the car to be driven away.

The other thing that helps immensely is a good visual deterrent in the form of a steering wheel lock. There are only three that I would recommend:

1) The Disklok - expensive but probably the best although heavy and somewhat cumbersome to use.

2) The Milenco - also rather expensive but much easier to apply and remove.

3) The Stoplock Pro or Pro Elite - both very effective but better priced than the other two.

Professional car thieves know which locks are easily defeated and which are difficult and time consuming so those I have mentioned fall into the latter category and would necessitate a thief exposing himself (or her!) for longer than would be comfortable as the risk of being discovered and seriously harmed is one they would rather avoid.

90% of other steering wheel locks are ineffective and many can be removed inside a couple of minutes, some without even needing tools! Serious thieves know this!

It’s very sad that we need to take such precautions but while theft of high-end cars is a major industry, police, insurance companies and car manufacturers could do much more to prevent car theft. As owners, there is a level of protection that would prevent most attacks by thieves but that involves considerable expenditure in the form of a high-end tracker and something like a ‘Ghost’ immobiliser. Even then, car thieves can make cars disappear in a very short space of time.

[optzeci]

3) The Stoplock Pro or Pro Elite - both very effective but better priced than the other two.

I use the Stoplock Pro Elite and so far so good.

I use it even if I know that I will leave my car for 5 minutes, no exception.

[NLineS]

crisagatie, sorry to hear about your car getting stolen. You can only do so much to protect your car from theft and obviously this is all at additional cost to yourself. We took the decision to purchase a 3 year gap policy that will give us a brand new car back at a total cost of £288 in the event of theft and/or write off. I now go about my life having no concerns whatsoever about our car being stolen, perversely we would be financially better off if this were to happen just before we get to 3 years of ownership.