September 13, 2024
Brian Johnston/USA Today Network
A rising number of car thefts in the United States have been linked to criminals using various methods to hack and clone keyless fobs. Four people from Philadelphia were charged this week with stealing dozens of cars by using equipment to clone fobs, investigators said.
Four people in Philadelphia have been charged with hacking the signals of key fobs to steal and resell dozens of cars in the area, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said.
Cloning key fobs has become a more common method used by tech-savvy car thieves in recent years, prompting a warning from the attorney general for vehicle owners to take steps to protect their property.
The thefts were discovered during a firearms investigation when one of the defendants was arrested near a stolen Chrysler 300, authorities said. Tyreek Brown-Lopez, 19, allegedly had a cloned key fob for the car when he was taken into custody. When investigators searched his home, they found programming equipment that's used to steal cars by manipulating their settings and cloning the fob — especially in models that use remotes to start the ignition.
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Car thieves have exploited several methods to hack into cars. A common tactic relies on obtaining the tablets that locksmiths and car makers use to reprogram key fobs. Thieves who purchase these devices legally or on the black market may be able to gain access to a car's network by connecting to a port on the dashboard or through the headlight, which offers an easy route to hack into vulnerable cars. Once a device is synced to the car's network, a thief can use commands to reprogram keys and take control of the vehicle.
Another approach uses cheaply available gadgets that relay the signals of a key fob from up to 300 feet away. Tag-teaming thieves can use paired devices to scan outside homes and transmit fob signals by extending them to unlock and start targeted cars, even if the fob is in a home.
The attorney general's office didn't share details about the methods the defendants used. They allegedly gained access to many of the vehicles — including the Chrysler 300 — by breaking their sunroofs to get inside and then clone the fobs. Some of the cars that were stolen were later sold for as little as $200 each, authorities said.
In addition to Brown-Lopez, prosecutors charged Kaheem Henry, 20; Kwadir Brockington, 21; and a juvenile who was not identified.
Henry, Brockington and the juvenile were arrested separately in a stolen 2023 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, authorities said. A search of Brockington’s home allegedly revealed more equipment for programming key fobs. Police also said they recovered a Glock handgun, a rifle and ammunition.
"I strongly urge vehicle owners to be vigilant and take proactive measures to secure their vehicles," Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said.
One of the simplest steps people can take to protect their cars from theft is to never leave a fob inside a vehicle. It's also recommended that people store fobs away from glass doors and windows, where they are more susceptible to having their signals amplified.
Keeping key fobs in metal containers or in specially designed pouches that block the transmission of radio signals is another recommended step to prevent theft. Additional security options include using steering wheel locks and tracking devices that can tell car owners and police where stolen vehicles end up.
When keyless fobs were introduced in the 1990s, they contributed to a steep decline in thefts over the ensuing decades because they added a layer of security not offered by traditional keys. In a letter to more than a dozen auto makers, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) urged manufacturers two years ago to address the surge in hacking-related vehicle thefts the FBI started observing in 2019.
Some car makers have since updated their security systems to prevent key fobs from unlocking vehicles outside the range of a few feet, along with other upgrades for theft protection. Still, experts told CBS News many of the technologies developed to patch security flaws have been reverse-engineered, and criminals have easy access to videos on YouTube that offer tutorials for hacking into cars.
More than a million vehicles were stolen in the United States last year, and the metro area that includes Philadelphia, Camden and Wilmington saw a 19% increase in car thefts from 2022 to 2023, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. More than 23,000 vehicles were reported stolen in this region last year, ranking 10th among metro areas in the United States, the NICB reported.
The defendants from Philadelphia have been charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime and unauthorized use of an automobile. The firearms investigation is ongoing with the Gun Violence Task Force of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.
