South Florida police, car expert may have a solution to rising auto thefts

MIAMI — For 30 years, the Fernandez family enjoyed the quiet, the solace, and what seemed to be the safety of living in the Redlands. That was compromised in September of last year.

"it would not be surprising to me if they saw the truck passing by and they followed me, either myself or my husband and realized this was the opportunity," said Silvia Fernandez, whose truck was stolen from her driveway.

At 3:30 a.m., the Fernandez' security cameras spied thieves walking up the drive and access the pickup. It was 10:30 a.m. and Silvia was headed to the gym when she found out.

"I opened the door and I looked to my left, which is where my truck is and I didn't see it," she said. "I go to the bedroom and ask my husband, 'Did you park your car somewhere? I don't see it maybe park in the back?' He got up to see and all of a sudden, he was like 'No, my truck is stolen.' The truck got stolen, looked at the cameras immediately".

Miami-Dade Police Auto Theft Unit said if a thief knows what they're doing and has the right equipment, it takes seconds. Detectives are tracking the newer, high-tech ways thieves are ripping off cars.

Detective Mike Martinez displayed a table full of gizmos for CBS News Miami to show what crooks are using. Now, they use something as simple as a tablet that plugs right into the car's on-board computer.

"The scanner will start trying to figure out the combination of the VIN of the vehicle and the identity," he said, "That will signal this one and this one will program the key".

Essentially the scanner, similar to what locksmiths use to reprogram keys, is talking to the car's central nervous system and directing it to add, delete or program new fobs.

Martinez also says there's a huge uptick in stolen Kias and Hyundais, specifically. The crooks' tool? A simple phone charging cord or USB.

"The criminal will enter your vehicle, and rip out the bottom portion of the vehicle and there's a port that fits exactly a charging cord and it turns on the vehicle," he said. "It's a key."

Martinez said this technique was trending on TikTok as part of the "Kia Challenge."

It would seem there's no way to avoid your car being ripped off and any model seems susceptible.

Randy Russell, who has tens of thousands of dollars in after-market value on his muscle car, knew there had to be an answer.

"I got a lot of money in the thing. the purchase price plus all the aftermarket stuff," he said. "So, I started reaching out on the forms to people around the country. What do you feel is the best way to keep this car secured?"

He found American Muscle Performance, which is one of only a handful of businesses in Florida authorized to install a European security system that disables the car without the designed and programmed key fob.

"it gets wired into the body harness of the car," said Scott Bogler, who owns American Muscle Performance. "There are many places we could hide this. It would take somebody hours if not days to figure it out. And, it's totally undetectable by any type of scanner, including dealership software".

If somehow the key fob was replicated,  the car still wouldn't start without a combination or code using the buttons on the steering wheel.

"It's a combination the person gets to choose," Russell said. "The steering wheel has a lot of options five buttons here — five here, two paddle shifters and the brake can be used too".

With this security system, the only way it can be stolen is to throw it on a flatbed and haul it away.

Russell shelled out $1,200 for this seemingly fail-proof security system but says the easiest, cheapest way to deter is $17 on Amazon: a steering wheel lock.

Police advise that you don't leave your keys in the car, lock the doors, and park in well-lit areas. And, detectives also said Russell is right to use a steering wheel lock — anything that is going to make stealing your car more troublesome, the better.

Hyundai and Kia reached out to Miami-Dade Police to let them know that the automakers will be in South Florida this summer holding events to remedy the "Kia Challenge" problem, which to detectives sounded like something as easy as a software update.