They Don't Need Your Keys: How Thieves Are Stealing Cars from Your Driveway

The Isaiah Factor Uncensored starts now. And welcome to the Factor Uncensored. Let's show you some numbers when we talk about car thefts in this country. We have seen recently a huge decline. Take a look at this. From its peak in 2023 to more than a million cars stolen in America, down to 2025, where it's nearly half that. And in 2026 so far, we have seen more than a 20 percent decrease in the number of cars stolen. But for those cars that are still being targeted, there is a new technology out there that thieves don't need your keys, your fob or even your vehicle to be open to steal it. Let's go to the Houston Police Officers Union with the details. So, Ken, now there are these so-called relay attacks that the thieves are using where your key fob, you can take it inside your house, have it put away, and they still can get into your vehicle, go inside, steal things from you, even take the vehicle. So what is this technology that they're now using? Well, first of all, Isaiah, thank you for having us on the program tonight. It's an unfortunate situation now where technology that we think is beneficial for the owners, unfortunately, has fallen into the hands of thieves now. with technology unfortunately there's always a system to defeat technology what some guys have done now they've been able to use computers and other devices to basically get close to your vehicle at your home or businesses and especially at homes because people have their key fobs because most vehicles now utilize a key fob system unfortunately there's a way now with guys have found a way to activate a criminal element using the key fob send a signal from the key fob to the vehicle itself, which allows people to get inside vehicles while people are inside their homes. And so, unfortunately, these crooks have been using this technology against the vehicle owners to get inside the vehicles, and also which gives them an opportunity to take property that may be inside the vehicle. But also, it gives them an opportunity sometimes to activate the ignition system and actually drive off with the vehicle. Wow. And so, the owner's kind of confused because I have my key fob in the house with me I lock my vehicle as I'm told to do right and your car is still gone yeah unfortunately it's an unfortunate situation you know a lot of times with vehicles with the key fob you know after you get out of distance or range from the key fob you're not able to use it again but the vehicle wants to start driving will drive and as this unfortunate that people have taken advantage of technology that's used to benefit the owner of a vehicle and they're using it against them now how How widespread is this problem? Is this technology? Is it here in Houston? Is it all around the country? Where? Yeah, from what we've seen right now, it has been isolated. I do know some incidents that have happened in Houston where a computer has been used to allow access to people's vehicles. As far as the vehicles actually being stolen, no. But I do know there are some cases where a vehicle has been used, a computer has been used to access the vehicle, getting a relay from the key fob to give entry into a vehicle. And was there the purpose for getting into that car? Was it to steal stuff or just to get in it? You know, like I said, I think maybe it's kind of a see if it works. Once given that opportunity, it did work. They got inside that vehicle and took property that was inside of that vehicle. Now, we've seen some instances around the country where they've actually stolen the vehicle. What can we do, if anything, in this age of technology to protect ourselves in a situation like this if now they're using computers to get in our cars and the whole keyless entry was designed to keep us from having our cars stolen and losing that key or somebody getting their hands on the key well you know there are a couple things that we can do a lot of times the key fob works just on the relay signal if a key fob is maybe further away from the vehicle inside of a home that That increased distance reduces the likelihood of someone being able to steal that signal. Also, there's a thing called a Faraday bag. A lot of people can put their key fobs inside a Faraday bag, which prevents the signal from being sent out. You can find those on Amazon, eBay. They're very inexpensive, maybe $10 to $15. Unfortunately, that's just another mechanism that a vehicle owner can use to prevent anyone from taking their vehicle. But when we think about it, and you just made an important point there for those who are not familiar with this, you still need that fob. The criminals still need, they will still need that fob to activate your car. So the closer it is to your vehicle, whether it's in the front room, living room, where your vehicle may be parked outside, they still need that fob to activate it using their computer program. That is correct, because it actually almost has a relay system. That criminal element, they've kind of figured out a way to defeat the system. Basically, they'll send something out, access the key fob, and basically sends it almost like a boomerang. The computer, the fob goes to the car, which activates, unlocks the doors sometimes, which allows them the opportunity to get inside of the vehicle. Those things I spoke about, the Faraday bags. Like I say, you can buy those on Amazon or eBay, put that key fob inside of that Faraday bag, which basically kind of acts almost like a force field. It prevents from anybody being able to utilize any type of technology that would give them access to your vehicle. All right. And, of course, the old tried and true, what about GPS? Because I saw a report where someone's vehicle was stolen, but they were able to track it down and tell police exactly where it was as a result of GPS. That's a great technology, and it's a great feature for vehicle owners. By utilizing a GPS, you know, computer, cell phone, that will give you pretty much a good access, an idea of where your phone, I mean, where your vehicle is. If it's taken, that's another technology that can be used by law enforcement if somebody in the unlikely event does take your vehicle. All righty, and I just looked up Faraday bags on Amazon. on, you can get them as cheap as $9 and they can come to you overnight. Faraday bags to protect your key fob, keep you safe from the thieves who may go after your car.