TUCKER, Ga. — Car thefts are becoming a problem in the metro area. Criminologists say there had been a decline over the last decade, but we are starting to see a spike again possibly because of new technology.
The FBI says there have been nearly 5,000 cars stolen in Dekalb County in the past couple of years.
Branden Reagin said someone stole his Ford F-150 Raptor while he was eating at restaurant on Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker at the end of last month.
“It’s like a movie scene,” Reagin said. “You’re chasing your truck, wanting to run after it, but you just know you’ll never catch it.”
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Reagin said he saw a BMW circle the restaurant’s building a couple times before backing in next to his truck.
“My buddy goes, ‘Hey, did you start your truck?’…By the time we got out of the door, it was already on Lawrenceville Highway going up speeding, the truck and the BMW,” Reagin said.
He said when he called the police, he found out his car was likely stolen using key fob cloning technology.
“How quick someone can access a car, I mean, I kind of saw it firsthand myself, but it’s just mind blowing,” Reagin said. “They can steal anybody’s car, as long as that key is within range.”
Volkan Topalli, a professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University, said criminals are becoming more comfortable using new technology.
“Sometimes you have a handheld instrument, sometimes you can do it from your phone, but you have to be using near field technology, which means that you have to be close to the person,” Topalli said. “Once you are close to them, and it detects that there is a fob that can be cloned, it is a matter of basically pushing a few buttons, and then it just sucks the information onto the telephone. Then, you can use the telephone itself to unlock the car door.”
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Topalli said there are car brands that have older technology which makes them targets for stealing.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau report F-150s rank in the topmost stolen cars in the country.
“Every time we think we’ve come up with a surefire way of preventing someone from stealing a car or anything for that matter, there’s always the motivation to go ahead and take that car and overcome that technological advancement,” Topalli said.
In the last 10 years, the FBI said Dekalb County has seen more than 28,000 stolen cars, but they have only recovered over 6,000.
Topalli recommends people call their manufacturer or dealership and ask if they have any software updates, so they can replace your fob.
However, Reagin said he and his wife purchased an RFID key fob protector which blocks the signal used to clone information.
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