Car Locks

[Barkes Knife Shop]

It is very troubling what lengths people will go to steal something! Most of the time I lock my car on the door lock inside when I exit the car. Little did I know that that is the best way to lock your car, according to what a friend sent me on the internet. Read on...

THIS HAS BEEN CHECKED ON SNOPES; I personally checked with the local police and they confirmed that this was happening.

While traveling, my friend stopped at the roadside reststop with bathrooms, vending machines, etc. He came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later and found someone had gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator, briefcase... you name it.

He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into- the police told him that there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device (transmitter). They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. Since they know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom, it gives them a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to be sure to manually lock your car door by hitting the lock button inside the car, that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim, it will not be you.

When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting.... it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain- it sends the code thru the airwaves where it can be stolen.:barf:

I just wanted to let you know about this... it is something totally new to us... and this is real... it just happened this past Thursday.:yawn:

So be aware of this and please pass this note on... look how many times we all lock our doors with our keys (transmitters)... just to be sure we remembered to lock them... and bingo the guys have our code... and whatever was in the car... can be gone.

Keep safe everyone!------------:thumbup:

 

[L6steel]

Thanks for the info Barkes!!!!
I have just always locked em with the button on the arm rest as I get out. Now I'm glad I do!

 

[sunshadow]

One beautiful thing about not being rich enough for a new-ish car, especially one with all the new electronic tomfoolery . . . It's kinda hard to suck the cut code from my Dodge key out of the airwaves, Old school, cut brass plated with chrome, there's too much electronics on cars today, you can't adjust your computer controlled ignition with a matchbook cover when the darned thing dies and strands you on the side of the road, (yes it really does work with point ignitions in a pinch) how do I know?

-Page

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I get such a kick out of the line, "I checked it out on Snopes..."
That is about the same as a con man saying, " You can trust me..."

The real Snopes story almost always shows it as false, as is this one.
http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/lockcode.asp

Unless you have a 15 year old car and a very out of touch thief, it is not going to happen.

However, locking your car with the door button and closing the door is the number one way that keys get locked inside cars.....where they are easy for a thief to get. A car can be unlocked by a $1 slim-jim in seconds. Few thieves would bother to drive around with a car full ofexpensive electronics to try to "Grab a Code".

I keep a lockout kit in my car, I unlock about 5 cars a month (sometimes 10-15 in the summer) at the shopping center where the store is. Every one was locked in by the owner pushing the door lock and closing the door .....with the keys in the ignition.
Stacy

 

[SteelSlaver]

Althought the above maybe false, it has been demonstrated that with the correct antenna device and program a person with a laptop can unlock about any remote locking device. A 40 bit encryption is actually pretty week compared to the speed of a modern processor. This was first demonstrated in 2005. Proximity chip devices can also be read from a greater distance with the use of a focusing antenna. I personally have made a wireless antenna for my laptop that can connect to wireless networks from very long distances. None of this stuff is anymore secure than keys. Mechanical locks are way more simple to defeat. I spend a winter running a wrecker years ago before remote locks and never found a car I couldn't get into. A third of the calls were lock outs. As far as mechanical keys go look here LOL.

http://www.lockpicks.com/electricpicks.aspx

John Hopkins on remote locks

http://www.jhu.edu/news/home05/jan05/rfid.html

And it has happened to expensive high end cars

http://www.automobile-security.com/security.htm