AA boss shares tips to prevent car theft after wife’s £50k Lexus was pinched
THE AA's President Edmund King has revealed that his wife's £50,000 Lexus was stolen from their home in Hertfordshire.
Thieves intercepted the car's key signal and returned later to open the car and drive off, prompting the AA boss to give drivers some advice.
It's thought the hackers got the key's information while King's wife was standing outside with it that morning.
Mr King told the : 'We think the thieves came to the house at 11.45pm and used their computer device to unlock the car and remove it with no smashing into the car or anything.
'We didn't notice it until the next morning, by which time it was probably in a container with its plates changed on its way out of the country.'
As a result, he told the Telegraph he has started putting car keys in Faraday cases, inside a metal box, inside a microwave.
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And to be sure, he has also started using a steering lock on the car to deter thieves further.
King wants to warn drivers to take the same measures as thieves get access to more advanced technology.
In extreme cases, putting your car keys in a Faraday case and then inside a microwave should help block the key's signal, making it impossible for thieves to amplify it.
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But the humble steering lock is still a hugely effective way of stopping somebody being able to drive the car at all.
However, speaking to The Sun, Edmund wants to remind motorists that in most cases a microwave isn't necessary.
He said: "If you test your keys in a Faraday pouch next to the car and it doesn’t open, then you don’t need extra key security but a full wheel lock is still an extra deterrent."
He also warned that he 'wouldn’t advocate putting a single key in a microwave as you might forget it is there and fry it...'