Essential Ways to Prevent Your Car Keys Being Cloned
Specialist Auto Locksmiths share tips on preventing car key cloning, theft, and enhancing security for vehicles and commercial vans
Electronic transponder keys and keyless vehicle entry systems are intended to improve security and lower the potential for high-value cars to be stolen. However, as with any valuable item, criminals have developed new and evermore sophisticated techniques to steal and break into modern cars.
Amid spikes in reports of cars being stolen to order and record-high instances of specific makes and models of vehicles being targeted, often in affluent postcodes, it is essential that drivers and owners take steps to protect their vehicles and property from adding to these statistics.
The experienced team at Eydens Auto Locksmiths has put this guide together to illustrate why electronic car keys are so appealing to organised criminals and some of the steps you can take to safeguard your vehicle and keys.
The Rise of Transponder Car Key Cloning and Thefts
Receiving a call from a customer who has had their bag or keys snatched is always worrying, especially when there is the potential for a thief to have deliberately stolen the car keys for a specific vehicle and who could possibly return after we’ve provided the owner with a replacement.
However, cloning has become an even more common way for criminals to steal vehicles because it involves significantly less risk of being spotted and seen by the victim and therefore of being apprehended and prosecuted by the police.
Modern keys, either those that facilitate keyless entry or transponder keys with a chip and battery inside the outer case, work by transmitting a radio signal that includes a unique code. This is how the key communicates with the car, instructs it to unlock the doors, or recognises that a legitimate key is present to start the engine when the ignition button is pressed.
Unfortunately, that also means that criminals can use electronic cloning devices to capture and record the same radio signal and use that to create their very own copy of your key in as little as a few seconds.
Cloning is shockingly easy for criminals with the right equipment, using advanced approaches to create replica keys without ever physically stealing your transponder or being seen to do something unlawful.
Other methods involve two-way radio devices, where a criminal will surreptitiously stand near you or your bag with an accomplice next to the car, using this equipment to extend the signal transmitted by your keys to bypass the controls within the vehicle and make it seem as though the key is nearby.
Straightforward Ways to Protect Your Vehicle From Theft
The right options may depend a little on the nature of the vehicle you drive, since we commonly recommend contemporary van security solutions for businessowners and tradespeople who need a surefire way to defend their work vehicle and tools from theft.
However, there are multiple ways to prevent your keys from being cloned or copied, avoid any potential that a criminal will be able to gain physical entry to your vehicle, or make it so difficult to do so that criminals will look for easier targets.
Improving Security for Keyless Car Fobs
If you have a modern car key fob, the first step is to remove any obvious temptation by storing your keys away from the car and putting key hooks a sufficient distance from your front door so that they cannot be accessed through the letterbox.
Drivers can turn off wireless signalling on their fob when they return home for the evening, on days when they don’t plan to drive, or on arrival somewhere crowded where there is a greater risk of key cloning.
Some car owners invest in pouches lined with a metallic fabric similar to tinfoil that block signals, although the more recent versions of electronic car keys incorporate a motion sensor, which deactivates the wireless signal once the key hasn’t been used for a certain length of time—such as when it is in your bag or pocket.
Installing a Ghost Immobiliser to Reduce Theft Risks
Vehicle trackers and immobilisers are great deterrents, and you can go for a highly visible security system with signage on your vehicle or a discreet and invisible Ghost Immobiliser, suited to any vehicle and fitted using concealed wiring.
This immobiliser is pin-activated, which means you authorise the vehicle to start—and prevent anybody from driving away, even if they have stolen or cloned your car keys.
We also speak with customers about fitting a vehicle tracker, which not only means you’ll be able to see exactly where your car is at any point in time, but that you get added value data about your mileage, speed and fuel consumption to make driving safer and more efficient.
Options like the S7 Tracker and S5+ combination immobilier and tracker are insurance approved and use a card to activate the immobiliser—working similarly to the Ghost Immobiliser we’ve mentioned to ensure the vehicle cannot be driven without the driver’s card present.
Protecting Commercial Vehicles and Work Vans From Theft
Vans are often more exposed to thefts due to the assumed presence of valuable tools and equipment, which can be disastrous for contractors, tradespeople and small business owners.
Alongside the options and solutions already explored, van owners can fit commercial-grade deadlocks like the L4V Statement Lock, which provides powerful security and works independently to reinforce the security offered by the manufacturer-fitted locks.
The Diamond Edition model is the ultimate in physical van security and is graded with Sold Secure Diamond Approval, which means the locking mechanism meets the highest industry standards and can withstand deliberate and sustained attacks, including the use of angle grinders or drills.
We can also recommend alternatives like the L4V External Shield, which works to supplement the strength and theft resistance of the bodywork, locks and door latches on your van, and the L4V Handle Shield to minimise the risk of a door being tampered with.
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About Eydens Auto Locksmiths and Vehicle Security
Eydens Auto Locksmiths have over 20 years of experience and are members of both the MLA and the ALA, providing auto lock and key services to motorists in Coventry, Rugby, Nuneaton, Bedworth, Kenilworth, Leamington, Stratford upon Avon and Warwick.
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Source Company – https://eydensautolocksmiths.co.uk/