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WHAT A STEAL

How thieves are exploiting £100 eBay gadgets to steal your keyless car in under 30 seconds

Key programmers can be freely bought online for under £100 and - when paired with a relay device - can be used to steal any keyless car

CAR THIEVES have an easy ride more than ever in stealing a motor thanks to keyless entry and push-to-start tech.

Key programmers can be bought for under £100 on eBay, and the relay devices that boost key signals can be made at home in a day for also less than £100.

Key programmers are freely available on sites like eBay for less than £100
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Key programmers are freely available on sites like eBay for less than £100Credit: Damien McFadden - The Sun

The relay device is waved outside a home, for example, in order to pick up signal from a key inside.

Using a second device that is held close to the car, the signal is transmitted and unlocks the vehicle, which then has a push-to-start button.

Richard Billyeald, Chief Technical Officer for the UK's car security and safety centre Thatcham Research, told Sun Motors that criminal gangs often involve experts that know how to create makeshift relay devices.

These can be made with components bought from electrical specialist stores, rather than your standard B&Q and Maplin outlets.

Police video of a high-tech relay car theft where gang car theft new Mercedes in a minute without keys

Although Sun Motors will not disclose what all of these parts are, we can say that together they cost under £100 with a battery being the most expensive mechanism.

However, many keyless cars will come up with a warning saying the key isn't detected once it's driven away and, as a form of security, the motor will not turn on again if it is too far away from the owner's key.

This includes at traffic lights when the engine turns off for start-stop efficiency.

Due to this failsafe, some thieves have a nearby 'locker' to hide a car in, including a signal blocker or radio frequency jammer to prevent police or the owner from detecting the vehicle. These also cost around £100 online.

A key programmer can then be used on a 'virgin key' - a new unpaired key - to allow the car to turn on again.

But following discussions with police, Richard says that in most cases the stolen cars are very quickly stripped for parts - and so creating a new key is unnecessary.

The former Formula One engineer also adds that, while key programmers are legal to buy and sell, they are not used for any legitimate reason by mechanics and car makers, for example, and rather just for autos crime.

Makeshift relay devices cost under £100 to make
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Makeshift relay devices cost under £100 to make

Meanwhile, professionally-made relay devices that can be used on any keyless vehicle are selling for thousands of pounds online.

A recent investigation found one company openly selling the tool for £14,500, claiming that they're for police use - and the firm insists it's not responsible if criminals buy the device.

It was recently revealed that more than £271million was paid in compensation by insurers for stolen cars in the past 12 months - a third more than last year, with keyless cars blamed for the 11 per cent increase.