Millions of UK drivers could potentially be at risk of having their vehicle stolen in a relay vehicle theft hack, VCL can help prevent this, but act quick...

Relay car theft - UK drivers at risk from having a vehicle hacked, but here’s how to avoid it.

NEW research has revealed that millions of UK drivers could potentially be at risk of having their vehicle stolen in a relay vehicle theft hack, VCL have found a way to help prevent this and stop your vehicle from being stolen, but act now before it’s too late… 

A new, sophisticated - and silent - way to steal ‘keyless’ vehicles in just 60 seconds is fuelling a huge rise in thefts in Greater Manchester.

The method involves using two relatively-cheap devices to ‘trick’ a vehicle into thinking its entry fob is nearby.

It is suspected of contributing to a 44 per cent increase in vehicle theft in the region in recent years - twice the national average.

Officers working on GMP’s Irlam and Cadishead patch have warned drivers to take care as cases of theft continue to rocket.

Police figures show that between October 2015 and September 2016, 4,572 vehicles were stolen in Greater Manchester. The figure for the same period in 2016/17 was 6,564.

Oldham has become a hotspot for vehicle theft in the last year, with thefts increasing from 321 in 2015/16 to 544 in 2016/17.

Manchester cases went up from 1,100 to 1,703; Salford from 539 to 803; and Trafford from 243 to 361.

A surveillance video shared by West Midlands Police shows how thieves stole a Mercedes parked on the driveway of a home within a few seconds - without keys and without even touching the vehicle with devices.

How do you prevent this?

The OBD Portector from VCL is an innovative hardware solution which permanently integrates into the vehicle without the need to cut into the wiring and designed specifically to protect a vehicles OBD port.

It works by stopping the information travelling to the OBD port and therefore prevents a thief from accessing it, effectively closing the OBD port whilst Portector® is armed.

Portector® provides the owner with the authorisation as to whom gets access to the vehicles information with ‘OBD Port Authorisation Cards’.

These cards are required to temporarily switch off Portector® and allows full access to the vehicle. It does not prevent any regular servicing/maintenance or other work being carried out on the vehicle providing the owner authorises such work by presenting their card.

Electronic theft of vehicles is on the increase & can now take less than a minute to steal a vehicle by plugging into the OBD port. Protect your vehicle with our Thatcham Rated OBD Portector, prices start from as little as £299.00 + VAT supplied & fitted.