Vine Grove Police are warning drivers to stay vigilant if they use wireless key fobs because thieves are using electronic tablets to access vehicles without keys.
The warning comes after an incident in the early hours on Friday, November 22, near Shirley Boulevard and Vineland Parkway Drive in Vine Grove. Officers saw two vehicles parked in the roadway with their engines running around 3:30 a.m.
The vehicles were parked outside a home. When police approached the vehicles, they saw five to seven masked suspects wearing dark clothing run to the cars and speed away.
A chase ensued, with the suspect vehicles traveling over 100 mph toward Louisville. Police eventually called off the chase for safety reasons.
When police checked in with the family of the home targeted, the family was okay, but their car had been rummaged through, despite it being locked.
Police obtained video of the incident that showed the suspects appearing to use a tablet, like an iPad, to gain access to the vehicle. Similar incidents have been reported in other parts of the country.
According to police, the thieves use the tablets to pick up the RFID code on keyless fobs from inside homes. Once they get this data, they can use the tablet to unlock vehicles and even start it if it has a push-button ignition.
Police are also warning drivers with garage openers in their vehicles to lock their inner garage doors as well, as thieves are also opening garages once inside vehicles to gain access to homes while owners are sleeping.
Police say one solution to this problem is to use what is called a “Faraday Bag” to put your key fob in when you are asleep. These bags block the signals from key fobs so thieves cannot access them remotely. They can be purchased on Amazon.
If you don’t have a Faraday bag, police say insulated coffee cups with a piece of tinfoil wrapped around the top, or even a microwave oven can be used to prevent thieves from getting access to your vehicle.
Source: WAVE
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