A Mercedes was stolen ‘keyless’ from Stanmore this morning Barnet MPS have revealed.
They tweeted: “This Mercedes was Stolen keyless this morning from #Stanmore Had been fitted with @Tracker_UK and tracked to a location in #Edgware and recovered by Police #ResponseTeamB @TrackerPolLiais”
The most popular cars are mainly at risk of being stolen in seconds by taking advantage of weaknesses in keyless entry systems. These systems let drivers open and start their cars without taking their key out of their pocket. Car theft rates have reached an eight-year high according to recent reports . Last year more than 106,000 vehicles were stolen alone. These are figures for the whole of England and Wales.
Thankfully, in this case the police were able to locate the car thanks to a tracking system, it was located in Edgware. A follow up tweet from Barnet MPS stated: “See our advice about preventing keyless car theft More advice can be found online met.police.uk/cp/crime-preve…#ResponseTeamB”
Tips on the Met Police website include:
1. Lock your vehicle
Locking your vehicle, even when filling up or parked on your drive, greatly reduces the possibility of it being targeted by an opportunist thief. Even if you have locked your vehicle, check you haven’t left any windows or the sunroof open. It is actually illegal to leave your vehicle running unattended while you de-ice it or warm it up in cold weather. If someone takes it while it’s left like this, your insurer won’t pay out because you won’t be covered.
2. Keep the keys safe
Vehicles today are by and large more difficult to steal than ever, unless the thief can access your key or fob to clone them. Keep your keys safe, out of view when at home, and away from your front door. It’s not uncommon for car keys to be stolen from inside your home by thieves fishing for them with a stick and hook through the letterbox.When not in use, keep your electronic car key in a security pouch to prevent it being scanned by thieves to open and steal your car nearby.
3. Be aware of carjackers
The fact that you’re in the car isn’t always a deterrent to someone trying to steal it. In traffic, drive with the doors locked and when queuing leave enough space in front of your vehicle to enable you to get out of a tight spot. If your vehicle is bumped from behind, wait to pull over – somewhere safe and preferably where there are people. After all, you don’t know the person who has collided with you; they could well be hijackers. If you’re at all suspicious, consider calling the police.
If someone threatens you, it’s better to hand over the keys to the vehicle than become a victim of assault. Then call 999 as soon as possible, and ask for the police. If your car is stolen, some modern vehicle alarm and tracker systems have the facility to isolate or shut down fuel systems, bringing the vehicle to a halt and leaving the thief high and dry.
A full list can be found here
(Image Credit: Barnet MPS)
