Stolen motorhome - the importance of a Tracker
To my shock the other morning I woke up to find that our 2 year old motorhome had been stolen from the drive, the keys were in their normal place how does this happen?
I phoned the police and then Tracker who said they will activate the signal, within 2 hours I had a call form the police to say they had located the vehicle so I went too collect it.
Luckily the vehicle was intact in a side road 20 miles away, apart for some panels removed where they must have been looking for the tracker, the locks and ignition also intact.
My feeling is that there must be a copy of the keys out there, or are the criminals so advanced now that they can use scamming software to use a skeleton key and isolate the factory fitted immobiliser?
So grateful to have it back but am concerned about other peoples security.
Moderator comment:
Moved from the Story Section as the discussion area is more appropriate.
Comments
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That’s worrying but fortunate you have a Tracker. I have read that it is now quite simple for thieves to clone the key signal from around 30 meters or less but it means they have to have been close when you have used the key. It’s a subject of considerable concern to the car security people apparently.
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if its push button start without the key you need to store keys in a faraday bag to stop the signal from being picked up from outside your house. have a look here.https://www.amazon.co.uk/MONOJOY-Blocking-Antitheft-Protection-Security-2-x-Signal-blocker/dp/B076KZF645/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1537045856&sr=8-3&keywords=faraday+bag+for+car+keys
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What a dreadful experience. But I don't think there is any need to buy anything fancy from amazon or anywhere else.
As soon as I heard of these key cloning thefts, we started leaving our vehicle keys in a metal tin in a cupboard. The keys are now harder to find if burgled, and I assume can't be accessed electronically from outside the house either.
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Back to he good'ol'days when Krooklocks and other steering wheel locks were in common use !
or with a bit of ingenuity, drill, and padlock. If you can turn the front seats 180 and lock them with the bak against te dashboard and steering wheel.
rgds
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Thinkng about this It appears that they must have a skeleton key to get in the drivers door and ignition, then they overide the immobiler via the obd socket as it had the panel & cover removed.
These were professional thieves very organized as on collection they had fitted false diplomatic number plates.
It appears that they left in a hurry as they left my camera behind, and removed the panel where the tracker was, im assuming they relaized the police were about, so left the van, it was also locked and the wing mirrors pushed in.
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More proof that trackers work. Skeleton keys are available for most makes and yes you can get computer programs to reset the computer through the socket.
Thieves often leave stolen vehicles parked for a couple of days to see if they can be traced and I take it this was the position here.
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So it that easy to resell a stolen UK motorhome without all the papers and with history that can be checked from the VIN.
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Is it a Ford base vehicle as there are a lot of issues with security on them.
I don't think a skeleton key would override the inbuilt immobiliser will it, especially once the alarm goes off as it would then render the vehicle un-drivable unless towed away?
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The skeleton key will get you in, but will not start the engine. To do that you then need to plug a computer into the port with a program that resets the security settings, it only takes minutes as was proved by a video that appeared on the BBC web site at one time showing it being done on a Fiesta.
In your drive if you have the contactless keys it is possible for thieves to use an amplifier to pick up the signal and fool the vehicle into thinking you are there and for the engine then to be started and the vehicle driven off. A video of thieves doing this with a Mercedes was posted along with the one with the Fiesta. Once you stop the engine though you are stuck but there are ways to overcome this once you have it back at base.
You can block the signal by placing the keys in a tin lined with tinfoil or in a microwave oven.
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In your drive if you have the contactless keys it is possible for thieves to use an amplifier to pick up the signal and fool the vehicle into thinking you are there and for the engine then to be started and the vehicle driven off
Do any MH have contact less keys, I thought they were a bit more basic than that?
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Richard 12 - I have just conducted an experiment and found that I can lock/unlock my Nissan X-trail with the keys in a tin box. However when same box is lined with tinfoil I cannot lock/unlock it.
Why the difference I do not know but that is the result.
By the way I used my old man's 60yr old tobacco tin in that experiment along with 1 yr. old baking foil to line it.
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Agree with this on keyless technology, but I have a key on a fob with a built in chip, which opens the doors or you can get into the vehicle with the mechanical key through the drivers door, you need to use that key to get the steering lock off & start the engine, Im assuming that the chip in this overides the factory fitted immobiliser.
Talking to various garages & security experts everyone thinks that there must have been a copy of my key fob somewhere, as there is no damage to locks & ignition, which takes time to get, I recently had a habitation service which took 4 weeks to complete, I am starting to think that someone might have had a copy done then. What I am struggling with is to get a key fob copy I thought you would have to show V5 proof of ownership?
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So speaking to Fiat there has not been a spare key cut, which rules out my suspicion with the dealer or anyone else. To do this you need a v5 & it would be documented.
Which means the keys must have been cloned using software, looking on the internet its called relay theft. Scary as anyone else with a key fob/remote could get hacked.
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After having a very good alarm and immobiliser fitted it would appear that the keys have been copied as there is no damage to locks or ignition.
My suspicion is within the company who took over 3 weeks to complete a habitation service on a 2 year old vehicle..plenty of time to get a key copied & chipped. I cannot understand how the vehicle was stolen otherwise as you need the key to get in & start, this is not a keyless vehicle.
Just hope the police can proove this & avoid anyone else going through this.
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