'Swapping the fobs' thieves steal vehicle from Rockland, Ont. lot
CTV
G & M Auto Sales and Service in Rockland, Ont. says thieves swapped the original key fob with a fake to help steal a Dodge Charger this week.
A brazen vehicle theft from a car lot in Rockland, Ont. was caught on camera this week and was likely a success because the alleged thieves took the original key fob used to get into the vehicle and swapped it with a fake.
"Right away it was kind of a red flag here for me," said Matthew Wilson from G & M Auto Sales and Service in Rockland, 35 km east of downtown Ottawa.
On Wednesday, three men asked to see a Jeep Cherokee and a Dodge Charger, but Wilson says things quickly felt amiss—the man purchasing the vehicle didn't have his licence and they kept asking if there were more expensive vehicles, he said.
The man checked out the Charger and promised to return with a licence. It was then Wilson discovered the key fob didn't work.
"I went to that car and the car's not working, doors aren't opening," he said. "I gave them the benefit of the doubt for a second, I went into the shop, changed the battery, obviously still not working."
Security footage he viewed after shows two men appearing to swap key fobs. The company contacted Ontario Provincial Police in the hopes a sting operation would prevent a theft but Wilson showed up at work the next day to find the Charger missing.
