Santa Cruz police warn drivers of car FOB hacking

UPDATE: 11/19/18 5:40 p.m. A warning for car owners with wireless FOB’s, hackers are using devices to unlock your car without laying a finger on it.

The Santa Cruz Police Department said they want drivers to be aware that thieves can use certain devices to intercept the signal your FOB puts out which allows them to unlock cars.

Police Chief Andy Mills says, “we have learned recently that some crooks locally here are using electronic devices to bypass the locking mechanisms for vehicles.”

The hackers use a certain device to get the signal from a key FOB then use that to unlock the car.

Chief Mills says it is important to be vigilant when locking your car, “pulling up to your house make sure you’re looking seeing if anyone is observing you or your vehicle or your home and if you do see that, notify us.”

Some drivers KION spoke with say they didn’t know hackers could do that, “No idea, absolutely no idea whatsoever that that was a thing that people could do,” says Kris Covington.

Cybersecurity experts say there are several things you can do to protect you FOB. One is wrapping it in aluminum foil. Another, store your keys in a metal can when you’re home. Both of these steps help protect your signal from being detected.

There are also protective cases you can buy on amazon for around $10 that are designed to protect your technology from signal interference.

While some drivers are saying they will take these precautions, others like Duane Inglish say, “there’s only so much you can do in today’s digital world and i’m not losing sleep over it. I feel the chance of somebody taking a baseball bat and hitting my window is just as good as somebody that’s actually going to hack into my car.”

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A warning for car owners with wireless FOB’s, hackers are using devices to unlock your car without laying a finger on it.

The Santa Cruz Police Department said they want drivers to be aware that thieves can use certain devices to intercept the signal your FOB puts out which allows them to unlock cars.

KION’s Ashley Keehn will have more on how to protect yourself from those hackers at 5 & 6 p.m.