How did thieves steal your car? Maybe with a device they ordered online

Digital devices that a Toronto-area police department warns are used in the most common method of stealing cars are for sale online for anyone to buy, a W5 investigation has found.

This is part one of a three-part investigative series by CTV W5 into how car thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily. W5 correspondent Jon Woodward explored how some devices flagged by police are still available for purchase online.

Digital devices that a Toronto-area police department warns are used in the most common method of stealing cars are for sale online for anyone to buy, a W5 investigation has found.

Those devices can be seen in multiple surveillance videos, with thieves seen plugging them in to access a car’s onboard computer, and then using them to program a fully functional key fob for themselves, within minutes.

And while the devices, which resemble tablet computers, are designed for hobbyists and car owners to clone keys for their own use, in the wrong hands they can be used again and again, without limits – something that has to change, says Hamilton-area engineer and locksmith Yaser Jafar.

“There are no tokens. There are no subscription fees. There is no limitation to this tool,” Jafar said in an interview at Auto Key Pro, a business where he and his brother Mustafa use those tools to help customers locked out of their cars.

“There has to be regulation for companies selling these specific tools,” Jafar said, saying there’s no reason for anyone who is not a licensed locksmith to have ones that are capable of stealing a car.