How Chicago thieves are using key fob tech to steal cars in minutes

Key fob cloning on the rise in Chicago | How thieves are stealing cars

Chicago police recently seized a vehicle key fob programmer used to steal cars through a method known as key fob cloning. Illinois Secretary of State Police join us to explain how this crime works and why it’s becoming more common.

CHICAGO - Car thieves are increasingly using key fob cloning technology to steal vehicles quickly, according to law enforcement.

What we know:

Key fob cloning has been used in the Chicago area for about a decade, but it has become far more common in the last few years, Lt. Adam Broshous of the Illinois Secretary of State Police said in a FOX Chicago interview.

The devices used to program or clone key fobs are now widely available online, making the crime easier to carry out. Once inside a vehicle, thieves can plug in a programmer and create a new working key fob in one to two minutes, allowing them to drive away as if they owned the car.

"They're getting one of these key fob programmers and they'll break into a vehicle. They'll smash out a window or use a slim jim to unlock it or whatever method they choose to do that," Broshous said. "But once they're into the vehicle… it only takes a minute or two… [to] plug it into the vehicles and program a new fob."

Police say another method involves devices that capture the signal from a legitimate key fob, such as one kept in a purse or near the front door of a home, and then reuse that signal to unlock and start the vehicle.

"It's not as popular in the Chicagoland area… [but] they're using devices that will capture the signal that is coming from the legitimate fobs that you may have in your pocket, your purse, hanging by the door to your home. This electronic device will capture that signal that's being emitted from those fobs and will then store that and replicate that to be able to open your car, start your car [and drive away]," Broshous said.

"And then once they're in a place of more comfort, if you will, they will then reprogram a blank fob, as we discussed earlier," he added.

The backstory:

When key fob cloning first appeared, it was mostly used to steal luxury or high-performance vehicles. Broshous said that has changed as the equipment has become cheaper and more people have learned how to use it, spreading the crime to more common, mid-range vehicles.

Manufacturers continue to update vehicle security systems, but Broshous described the situation as a "cat-and-mouse game," with thieves quickly finding ways around new safeguards.

"The manufacturers will update and bolster their encryption, their safeguards, their fallbacks in regards to this. And almost as quickly, the offenders are picking up on that and circumventing it," Broshous said.

What you can do:

Police recommend parking in a garage when possible and keeping keys away from the doors or windows of homes.

Signal-blocking pouches, often called Faraday bags, can also help reduce the risk of signal capture.

When buying a used car, officials urge buyers to use a vehicle history report and be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true, especially when buying through social media.

"If you're purchasing a vehicle and this vehicle says it has existed in a state out in the West Coast its entire life and there's no indication that it has ever spent any time in Illinois, and now all of a sudden it's in Illinois, and it may have a title with it that is from, say, North Carolina, something's probably gonna be wrong with that," Broshous said.

What's next:

Police say they expect thieves to increasingly experiment with signal-capturing devices as the technology improves, even as investigators continue seizing programmers and tracking stolen vehicles through the devices’ stored data.