Do you Have a Keyless Fob and Push Start? The Car is Easy to Steal

December 04, 2020, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Almost all new cars now have keyless remote fobs and push-button starts. They make driving incredibly convenient especially in the winter when you don’t need to fumble with pulling out your keys to open the car door. These remotes come with significant drawbacks that you should know about.

Car theft is much easier in cars that have the keyless entry and fobs because they are easily hacked in what’s known as a ‘relay attack’. The thieves have sophisticated equipment that acquires a signal from your key fob and clones it. They simply walk up to your front door, or follow you in a parking lot and their equipment sends out messages to the fob and records the response making a duplicate fob. They can then access your car.

Ways to avoid having this happen are to keep your keys in a Faraday Box or pouch which prevents electronic signals from entering or exiting them. Faraday boxes and bags can be inexpensive and are widely available in stores and online. You should place your keys in them whenever you are not driving. A pouch model can be kept in your bag or pocket and the box which holds more keys can be kept at home.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada reported the following cars as the top 10 most stolen cars in 2020. They are primarily headed for overseas markets and for stripping for parts. They warn that thefts from your driveway are common especially since so many of us worked at home this year and many are not aware of the steps they should take to protect their key fobs.

1. 2018 Honda CRV
2. 2017 Lexus RX350/450 
3. 2917 Honda CRV
4. 2018 Lexus RX35/450
5. 2018 Ford F150
6. 2019 Honda CRV
7. 2018 Toyota Highlander
8. 2017 Toyota Highlander
9. 2019 Lexus RX350/450
10. 2017 Dodge Ram 1500

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.