Car theft caught on video shows high-tech thieves stealing Lexus in seconds

Toronto police are warning car owners abouta rash ofthefts of newer vehiclesequipped with keyless FOBs in Scarborough.

One such "relay theft,"as they areknown, took placein the areaonJune 30and wascaught on home surveillance video. Police released video of the incident this week.

In the video, one suspect can be seen pulling out a sensor attached to a computer inside a backpack while standing outside the front door of a house.

The device, which iscalled afrequency amplifier, increases the range of acar's FOB, police say.

The amplifier then boosts the FOB's frequencyto the second suspect's phone as they wait by the Lexus in the driveway. That allows themto fool the car's operating system into recognizing the phone as the FOB, unlock the door, and drive away, police say.

High tech car thefts increasing

According to Toronto Police data, the number of vehicle thefts in the city have been increasing by the hundreds year over year. So far in 2020 there have been 2,760.

As theft numbers go up, the police success rate in retrieving stolen vehicles has gone down.

"Around this time last year we would be finding 66 per cent of the cars stolen and currently we're retrieving about 50 per cent of the cars that are stolen,"Toronto Police Insp.Jim GotelltoldCBC News.

The longer the vehicles are missing, the more likely it is that they are being shipped overseas for big money, he said.

"When we find the cars they're usually used in another crime such as a robbery andthen abandoned," Gotell explained.

"When we don't find a car that indicates to us there's a certain level of sophistication here and that car is likely going to be shipped overseas."

Police say they haven't immediately found the Lexusseen in thevideo they released.

Gotell advises that to protect themselves, people should parktheirvehicle in a garage if possible, and putkey FOBsin a signalblocking case likea Faraday cage. He also suggests keeping car keys far away from your front door.

"Awireless key fob has a very short range of signal transmissions and the further it is from the front door, the less likely the signal is to be picked up by someone trying to steal your car," he said.