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Owners of luxury brands including Mercedes, BMW and Porsche targeted
Car thieves are buying kits that cost £19 online that enablethem to bypass car security systems and steal vehicles.
The crime had become so prolific that in August, Warwickshire police released a statement on the e90post forum warning BMW owners that 154 luxury cars had been stolen since January and to take extra precautions.
Read more: Car tech news | security news
A BBC Watchdog investigation also found that the Metropolitan police were leaving warning leaflets under BMW windscreens.
Although the vehicles of choice are cars such as BMWs, Porsche and Mercedes, similar kits can also be bought for other makes of car, including Opel, Renault, Volkswagen and Toyota according to a report on Sophos' Naked Security blog.
Writer Lisa Vass said that if the video she had found online showing how the kit works was accurate it means that "even the village idiot could be behind the wheel of a fine ride with a $30 investment and a few minutes."
BMW has issued a statement saying people who are concerned "Can contact our Customer Service department on 0800 083 4397 or your local BMW dealer, either of which will happy to advise on next steps."
It also recommended the following general advice given by the Police:
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BMW X6 SECURITY
Dear Sirs, In Jan 2012 I bought from BMW Dick Lovett a BMW X6 , one year old with 10,000 miles , in April the car was stolen from outside my home, some weeks later the police found the car in a container at Southampton docks and impounded it for forensic tests which took a total of 3 months , at the end of July the car was released and delivered to BMW Holland Park , due to the amount of work ( 55 hours labour) that was required my insurers decided to have the works carried out by BMW Heathrow although prior to having it moved the new updated security patch was installed on the 31st August. I finally got my car back in showroom condition three weeks ago and believe it or not the car was stolen last night from exactly the same spot as before. I have just spoken to Mr Sukh Bhamra customer service manager at BMW who has told me that the new security patch was to give their clients “peace of mind” and that I should contact my insurers as their is nothing BMW can or will do……what a joke! It is quite frankly outrageous that BMW are turning their backs on customers and refusing to admit that their is a serious security fault with their top of the range models.
Posted by charles Keisner, 23 Nov 2012