Two thieves have been filmed on security camera stealing a BMW M140i outside a home in Northampton, UK.
One of the men, with most of his face in view of the camera, can be seen holding up a device to the walls of the house, looking for the wireless signal of the M140i’s key while an accomplice stands next to the BMW with another device.
The moment the first man captures the signal, he sends it to his accomplice, who immediately unlocks the car and drives off. The whole thing took just 20 seconds.
As vehicles with keyless entry and wireless features become commonplace, cases of relay theft have been on the rise around the world. All it takes is one thief using special equipment to capture signals from wireless keys and another standing next to the vehicle with a transmitter to unlock the vehicle and drive off with it.
Footage of a very similar theft surfaced in the UK last year. It showed thieves making off with a Mercedes-Benz C-Class after scanning a house for wireless signals in just a matter of seconds.
There are some things car owners can do to stop thieves stealing their vehicles using this method. For example, storing keys in some kind of faraday cage, such as a metal box, or in specially-designed cases, prevents the wireless signals being received by outsiders.
Additionally, storing your keys away from walls and windows helps. We’re even told that keeping car keys in a freezer is an effective way to keep the signal contained – but that may be taking things too far; we think we’d stick with the metal box.