My wife told me some neighbors had their cars broken into and that the alarms were set and no windows were broken. She claimed the thieves had key fobs they used to gain access and rummage through the cars. This sounds fishy to me. While it might be possible to have a “skeleton” fob, it seems like a pretty sophisticated attack to pilfer loose change from inside a vehicle.
Does such a fob exist that is easily accessible to the kind of person who would commit such a penny ante crime?
We live in a fairly affluent suburb of Austin and most of the crime around here seems to be committed little punks in the neighborhood, so I am skeptical.
I saw a vehicle opening kit at Ross or Burlington Coat or similar discount place for $12. Some slimjims, rods, wedges, I think an inflatable bag. If these were once tools restricted to specialist professionals, they’re not anymore.
If you thought you set your alarm and didn’t, you may not notice when you push the unlock button and get back in the car - which you’d have to do to notice the pilfering.
Less-than-high-end younger types wandering the streets in the dead of night, randomly trying car doors is a pretty common thing. Happened to us several years ago, a couple of CD’s stolen out of the car (yes, that long ago). Annoying thing was they took the one CD case but left the CD still in the player. It’s been a long time since I left change in the center console, but that seems to be to usual target.
If someone had a magic fob, the car would be gone. Even for Toronto, car theft capital of the world, this does not seem to be a known means of theft.
Not if the key fob unlocks the doors but doesn’t start the car. (I don’t know how common that is nowadays, but it used to be typical, and it’s the way it is with my older-ish car.)
My 2006 Silverado 3500 and my 1997 Chevy Tahoe both have keyless entry, but not keyless ignition. Mrs. D’s 2019 Mustang has keyless entry/ignition.
ETA: So best you could do on my personal rigs is unlock them and riffle through them. The Tahoe you could probably hotwire and drive away, don’t think that’s quite as easy on the 2006 truck, but I could be mistaken.
Car alarms were outlawed here over a decade ago, so while most vehicles have immobilizers, people have just learned not to leave anything valuable in their cars.
Some of us do that, along with a decoy fob that’s merrily broadcasting to a non-existent car. Most security is just delaying the thief, so every additional layer lowers the chances of losing your stuff. The longer it takes, the more confusion you can spread, the more likely they’ll move on.
I wonder if anyone’s done a study on the probabilities .vs. time. Like X minutes of delay result in Y% reduction in theft, or something? I guess there are too many variables to have reliable numbers, especially since it’s become a security arms race between the law-abiding (Are you willing to invest more than your neighbors to ensure they suffer losses instead?).
I didn’t know this existed. Mine’s the other way 'round (have to push a button to unlock, but has keyless start).
I’m curious where you live. I’ve never heard of alarms being outlawed. Is it true for houses, or just cars?
House alarms are still legal, but with restrictions - no louder than 87 dB, no longer than 6 minutes, and if they go on for longer than 30 minutes the police will break into your house, shut it down, and bill you for their services.