Time to bring back the “The Club?” Can old methods thwart modern car thieves?

StCatherinesStandard.ca
Aug. 17, 2023

Vehicle thefts have hit “crisis levels” in Canada and Ontario, and the numbers are only rising, experts and police tell the Star.

Largely driven by organized crime, auto thieves now have a wide spectrum of methods at their disposal to hijack “smart,” modern vehicles -- including copying the signal from your electronic car key, even when it’s seemingly safely stored inside your home.

With vehicle thefts increasingly relying on technology, is it time to bring back the physical car key?

The answer, experts say, is complicated.

Smart keys and modern vehicles are ripe for theft
One of the most common techniques employed by the modern auto thief is what’s called a “relay attack,” said Bryan Gast, vice president of investigative services at Équité Association -- a not-for-profit, national fraud and insurance crime analytics organization.

“It's one of the three main methods in which vehicles are being stolen (nowadays),” Gast told the Star, adding that any push button start vehicles would be susceptible.

The attack is done through the use of an antennae-like device capable of capturing the radio frequency used by a smart key to communicate with its vehicle, Gast explained. By mimicking the same signal, criminals can trick your car into thinking the fob is closer than it is, allowing it to be unlocked and started.

“It's not something that we've seen a lot four or five years ago … but it’s quite prevalent now,” Gast continued.

According to detective inspector Scott Wade, of the Ontario Provincial Police’s new Organized Crime Towing and Auto Theft Team, the smart key fobs used in modern vehicles are “constantly emitting a signal that's able to be detected and potentially copied and used to steal a vehicle.”

What’s more, the relay devices employed by thieves work at an ever-improving range -- leading some perpetrators to copy key signals as their target is walking away from their vehicle in the parking lot or even when the fob is “safely” stored away in one’s home, Wade said.

“That's why you sometimes see individuals on people's front door cameras, standing on the front porch with what looks to be an antenna,” Gast added. “They're trying to extend their range and capture that signal” from the key inside your home.

The key fob doesn’t have to be near your front door either -- the range of relay devices are constantly improving, with newer models able to intercept a key fob’s signal “anywhere in the house,” he continued.

Fortunately, there are simple practices you can do to thwart these attacks.

How to protect your vehicle against relay attacks
According to Wade, the simplest thing you can do is keep your key fob as far away from the front door, back door and garage as possible: “The deeper they are in the house, the less likely (thieves) are to steal your signal,” he said.

As technology improves, however, this method will become progressively less reliable, Gast said. He advised checking your vehicle manual -- some manufacturers include an off switch on the fob able to shut off its wireless signals when not in use.

If this isn’t available, he and Wade agreed one of your best options is to store the key within a metal container or signal-blocking Faraday bag. Alternatively, less expensive RFID pouches with signal-blocking metal mesh lining are commonly available.

“I would just suggest people do some good research, because not all Faraday pouches are created the same,” Gast said; some being advertised have “low to nil” effectiveness.

In an effort to reduce vehicle thefts in the GTA, the City of Vaughan started distributing thousands of free key fob protective bags to residents this month.

Last year, Waterloo police also handed out the protective bags as part of an event to raise awareness about keyless vehicle thefts.

Is it time to bring back physical car keys?
According to Gast, older car models still reliant on physical car keys would certainly thwart relay attacks, potentially reducing your risk given the method’s current prevalence. But if thieves want your car, there are ways bypass physical keys -- criminals have done so for years before the arrival of the fob.

“If you have a key start, there are different methods of theft,” Gast continued. “But if would definitely protect against a relay attack -- (thieves) would have to do another method of attack.”

Wade agreed, saying he wouldn’t necessarily recommend swapping the convenience of a key fob for a physical key just to avoid a common method of theft: “If we went back to physical keys, they would find a way to steal those vehicles as well,” he said.

That said, the brunt of Canada’s explosion in car thefts target newer vehicles, which also contain numerous other technological vulnerabilities. Older automobiles are less frequently stolen, Gast said -- though they’re still targeted for their parts.

Modern cars have modern vulnerabilities
The two other most common practices by thieves nowadays both take advantage of the tech incorporated into modern cars. These work by hacking into vehicles’ OBD ports and CAN bus system, Gast explained.

The OBD, or on-board diagnostic port, is a little socket usually underneath your dashboard that mechanics use to assess what’s wrong with the vehicle. Unfortunately, criminals now have a device that can plug into this port and reprogram the car to recognize a different key signal provided by the thief.

“So they break into the car, they plug into that port, they reprogram a key fob -- so (they) don't need the original key fob, and they don’t need to do a relay attack to copy the original signal,” Gast said.

Similarly, criminals can plug into a modern vehicle’s CAN bus system, which enables its engine control units to communicate with each other. Thieves have devised a tool that can “inject” into this system, located near the front headlight connector, and impersonate the key fob, allowing them to unlock and turn on the car.

“The old days of punching a screwdriver into the keyhole are gone,” said Wade. “Now they’re using these sophisticated methods.”

Simple ways to protect your vehicle from theft
According to Gast, the more inconvenient you can make it to steal your car, the less likely thieves are to target it -- they want to spend as little time breaking into your car as possible, he said.

This begins with keeping your vehicle in the garage whenever possible, or at least parking in a well-lit area. “Never leave your vehicle running or the key fob inside the vehicle,” he continued.

For his part, Wade suggested installing a secondary alarm, as the primarily alarm is controlled by the vehicle. He also advised installing a tracking device on your automobile.

“And then there's also physical deterrents” such as mechanical devices that can lock the vehicle’s wheels or steering wheels -- such as The Club.

“None of these are fail-safe -- nothing's perfect, sadly,” Wade continued; if a thief really wants your car, they can get around most any security measure. These deterrents simply lower the odds, both experts say.

Canada undergoing “crisis” in vehicle thefts
In Équité’s 2022 Vehicle Theft Trend Report, the organization found vehicle thefts across Canada had reached “crisis level,” especially in Ontario and Quebec -- with insurers losing a cumulative $1 billion for the first time in history.

While the data for 2023 isn’t all in yet, Gast confirmed auto thefts in “the first part of 2023 is greater than (that of the same time) the year before -- so it's still an increasing trend.”

“What's driving this is organized crime is making a tremendous amount of money by stealing these vehicles and primarily exporting them out of the country,” Gast continued.

The Star’s Kevin Donovan can attest to that -- after his car was stolen from his Toronto driveway in 2021, he tracked the vehicle to a Halifax port, destined for the Middle East.

The problem is national but “Ontario and Quebec are being hit the hardest,” Gast said, due to these provinces’ proximity to ports for international export.

Other stolen vehicles are kept by criminal groups to perpetrate more crimes, like when Windsor police recovered more than 138 stolen vehicles from a sophisticated crime group, who were using the automobiles to run their drug operation, he continued.

Gast is maintaining hope that we may be nearing the peak, however, as police, governments and other organizations ramp up their efforts to curb the crime spree: “I can't say enough good things about the involvement at all levels. Law enforcement, government; everybody's looking for solutions, which is good and great,” he said.

These are the top 10 most stolen vehicles in Canada
Are you concerned about your vehicle? Check if it’s on Équité’s list of the 10 most commonly stolen automobiles in Canada, from most common to least.

1. Honda CR-V -- SUV

2. Lexus RX Series -- SUV

3. Ford F150 Series -- Pickup truck

4. Honda Civic -- Car

5. Toyota Highlander -- SUV

6. Ram 1500 Series -- Pickup truck

7. Chevrolet/GMC Silverado/Sierra 1500 -- Pickup truck

8. Honda Accord -- Car

9. Jeep Grand Cherokee -- SUV

10. Toyota RAV4 -- SUV