Most liked posts in thread: Car theft via OBD hack, a BMW nightmare

ScottinBend · Sep 17, 2012

Wow.....glad I still need a key to start my car.

Steve · Nov 28, 2012

Never mind hacking the OBD, just steal the keys!

KEY THEFT GANG JAILED (PistonHeads.com)

'Largest car key burglary operation in Britain' cracked

by Matt Bird | Wednesday 28th November

A gang of 11 burglars and stolen car handlers operating around Nottingham have been sentenced to 24 years imprisonment for their roles in what police say was the largest car key burglary operation in Britain.

This type of vehicle theft has been out of the news recently with the BMW on-board diagnostics (OBD) theft scare grabbing headlines, but cases like this show that stealing cars by first nicking the keys is still the most common method in Britain.

A survey by insurer LV in October found that that the owners' keys are used in two thirds of the 150,000 cars stolen each year.

Police say the gang, operating in the Kimberley and Eastwood area just north of Nottingham, were breaking into houses to steal keys to pinch cars and either using them in subsequent crimes or shipping them overseas.

Police estimate they stole around 60 cars over a 12 month period worth approximately Â£1 million. As you would expect, prestige brands were targeted mostly. The bulk of those taken were SUVs including Range Rovers, BMW X5s and Audi Q7s.

The cars for export were mainly being shipped to Africa, the investigation headed by East Midlands Special Operations Unit discovered. They passed on information on the stolen cars to the South African Police Vehicle Identification Service to be on the lookout when they arrived into Port Elizabeth. The operation found that the cars were taken over a 12-month period beginning in October 2010.

The same survey by LV discovered that only one in 50 cars is now being stolen in the traditional manner by hotwiring.
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Gizmo · Nov 28, 2012

Glad I need my finger print and a strand of hair for DNA to start my car, better to be safe than sorry.

Angib · Nov 29, 2012

Jason Montague said: ↑

Odd but in the UK, one is not allowed to use deadly force even to defend one's own life much less one's property(not meant as a political statement).
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This is quite untrue, but it is popular to claim this amongst those who want to pretend that they are the oppressed majority. But there is a requirement of proportionality so deadly force is perfectly legal when you believe your life is threatened - but shooting someone because they were picking flowers from your front yard isn't.

Steve · Sep 17, 2012

Progress, but note the unfortunate logic in the last paragraph...

BMW Addresses Key Cloning Issue On Select BMWs (MotorAuthority.com)

by Kurt Ernst | Sep 17, 2012

In July, we brought you news that car thieves (in Great Britain, anyway) had gone high-tech, stealing new cars via the use of NFC key reprogramming devices. Instead of relying on old-fashioned methods to steal certain new cars, todayâ€™s thieves just need access to the carâ€™s diagnostic port, a blank NFC key and a key reprogrammer.

BMW models built between 2007 and September of 2011 are the cars of choice for these thieves, and the Bavarian automaker has just announced a software fix that will eliminate the chance of NFC key theft on X5 and X6 models.

Per Auto Express, BMW dealers in Great Britain will upload the revised software to owners of affected vehicles at no charge. While that solves the problem for owners of X5 and X6 models, it wonâ€™t do anything to resolve the issue on other BMWs.

The company advises that a software upgrade is in the works for its other products, and is expected to be ready within the next eight weeks. In the interim, BMW is advising owners to park cars in a locked garage, or under the watchful eye of closed-circuit cameras.

European Union laws on restraint of trade allow independent repair shops to purchase the key encoders, which also makes the devices available to car thieves. While some want legislation that will require independent shops to register the devices and log their use, such plans arenâ€™t imminent.

Itâ€™s not only BMW owners who need to be concerned, either, since certain Volkswagen, Opel, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Toyota models are also prone to theft via fob-cloning.

Even after the software updates are installed, expect to see a high number of break-ins in BMW vehicles. Since the modification is transparent, thieves wonâ€™t know which cars have been updated and which ones havenâ€™t. In other words, even after the fix, BMW models will still be seen as targets of opportunity, so park appropriately.
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Jason Montague · Nov 28, 2012

:cornut: I'm glad that they haven't been able to reprogram my 90lbs Lab/Rottie(Raleigh) or my Colt Defender .45acp pistol. Odd but in the UK, one is not allowed to use deadly force even to defend one's own life much less one's property(not meant as a political statement).

Jason

Jason Montague · Nov 29, 2012

Angib said: ↑

This is quite untrue, but it is popular to claim this amongst those who want to pretend that they are the oppressed majority. But there is a requirement of proportionality so deadly force is perfectly legal when you believe your life is threatened - but shooting someone because they were picking flowers from your front yard isn't.
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:cornut: Thank You

Jason

minirab · Nov 29, 2012

Jeez..

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