A couple’s keyless car was stolen from their driveway in just 30 seconds by thieves who hacked into its key fob signal from 25 feet away.
Three masked and hooded thieves were caught on CCTV using an aerial antenna to unlock the £40,000 Ford Focus RS.
Video shows the trio approaching the £1.3 million home in Hampton, while one waves the aerial in the direction of the house.
Despite the key fob being 25 feet from the driveway, apparently safely stashed in an upstairs bedroom, the aerial picked up its signal. Once the signal was scanned from the fob, the thieves only had to press the “start” ignition button to drive the car away. The theft technique is known as relaying.
Video from a doorbell-mounted security camera shows the thieves were able to strike in just 30 seconds.
The victims said the “creative and very clever” thieves had struck while they were asleep early last Thursday.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “I woke up at 5am and saw a notification on my phone from my security camera at 1.25am. I opened up the video and I couldn’t understand what was happening so I showed my husband. He said, ‘They just took my car!’
“He saw they were hacking the signal to the car key. They did it very efficiently. In about 15 seconds, the guy holding the antenna was able to find where the keys were by moving it about, and then they opened the car, pressed the button, and off they went.”
She added: “It’s very creative and very clever. I wish they would use that cleverness to do something more positive to people’s lives.” The couple have been left feeling unsafe in their home and fitted more security at the weekend.
Police are investigating. They warned owners of keyless cars to use signal-blocking pouches to store their fobs.
