'It's a bad look': Calls grow to restrict high-tech car theft devices in wake of W5 investigation

There are new calls to crack down on the sale of high-tech devices that can be used to clone key fobs and steal cars, in the wake of a W5 investigation that found the devices are falling into the hands of thieves.

There are new calls to crack down on the sale of high-tech devices that can be used to clone key fobs and steal cars, in the wake of a W5 investigation that found devices that were designed for locksmiths have fallen into the hands of thieves.

And car manufacturers must do more to make sure their cars aren’t vulnerable to the devices, which plug into a car’s computer and generate a new key from scratch, said federal NDP MP Brian Masse.

“It’s a bad look, there’s no doubt,” Masse said in an interview, saying stolen cars from Canada are so prevalent overseas the country is getting a bad reputation internationally.

“There needs to be some responsibility on the car companies about their technology is not strong enough to prevent the criminal element from breaking in and taking advantage of it,” said Masse, who also serves as his party’s innovation, science and industry critic.

The W5 investigation found devices flagged by police to the federal government back in June as being the main method of car thefts remained available online to the average consumer in November.

W5 purchased one of the devices from online retailer Amazon, which said it was entitled to sell it because it remains legal in Canada.

The manufacturer, Autel, said its North American arm only sells to licensed locksmiths. But Amazon’s site offered up a sale from a Chinese company. It’s not clear how that company obtained the device.