Key skimming.

[Tompoole]

Hi people
We are now into the second week of ownership and woke up this morning and every cubby compartment was open in cab and the drivers door bin was on the drivers seat..... the sun visor was down seems Someone has been in the Cali and the odd thing is it was locked ? So I’m guessing our key had been skimmed or copied , people say this can’t happen..... it definitely did.
I’ve phoned dealer and they haven’t said much and told me someone will call but they can’t see how this can happen..... anyone else heard any stories. Guess we were lucky as we didn’t have anything other than a kettle and a sleeping bag in there

 

[westfalia]

Wow, that is bad news.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

The inevitable question (which will probably frustrate you) is how sure are you that the Cali was locked?
Even if you definately locked it when you last parked it could the fob buttons have been pushed accidentally there after?

 

[Amarillo]

Hi people
We are now into the second week of ownership and woke up this morning and every cubby compartment was open in cab and the drivers door bin was on the drivers seat..... the sun visor was down seems Someone has been in the Cali and the odd thing is it was locked ? So I’m guessing our key had been skimmed or copied , people say this can’t happen..... it definitely did.
I’ve phoned dealer and they haven’t said much and told me someone will call but they can’t see how this can happen..... anyone else heard any stories. Guess we were lucky as we didn’t have anything other than a kettle and a sleeping bag in there

I have inadvertently left our van unlocked overnight. It can also unlock itself if the keys are in your pocket and you accidentally knock the unlock button - if you do this and don't open a door within 30(?) seconds the van locks itself again.

Finally, ashamed as I am to admit it, I recall an occasion at university walking home from the pub with some friends in a pleasantly drunken stupor. On the way we checked the door of every car we passed. I would say that about 1 in 20 was unlocked. I hasten to add that we did no more than open the doors and close them again, but 1 in 20 is a surprisingly high number.


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[ArunAlec]

The inevitable question (which will probably frustrate you) is how sure are you that the Cali was locked?
Even if you definately locked it when you last parked it could the fob buttons have been pushed accidentally there after?

I think, unless you physically open a door after remotely unlocking, then the doors will relock. It assumes the unlock was pushed in error.

 

[Jay20cali]

Hi people
We are now into the second week of ownership and woke up this morning and every cubby compartment was open in cab and the drivers door bin was on the drivers seat..... the sun visor was down seems Someone has been in the Cali and the odd thing is it was locked ? So I’m guessing our key had been skimmed or copied , people say this can’t happen..... it definitely did.
I’ve phoned dealer and they haven’t said much and told me someone will call but they can’t see how this can happen..... anyone else heard any stories. Guess we were lucky as we didn’t have anything other than a kettle and a sleeping bag in there

The inevitable question (which will probably frustrate you) is how sure are you that the Cali was locked?
Even if you definately locked it when you last parked it could the fob buttons have been pushed accidentally there after?

If you accidentally push the fob walking away it automatically re locks itself if the doors are not opened within a short period..
Can’t believe this bud you only bought it a few weeks back ..this is crap news

 

[Jay20cali]

So they didn’t damage anything??

 

[Tompoole]

Update

Nothing was taken or damaged and it was locked this morning , I had to go back indoors to get the keys from our safe to open it and shut cubby box , drink holders, glovebox and sun visor .
I’ve just been informed three people were arrested in the next road so with luck these are the scum that cloned my key.

 

[Jay20cali]

Update

Nothing was taken or damaged and it was locked this morning , I had to go back indoors to get the keys from our safe to open it and shut cubby box , drink holders, glovebox and sun visor .
I’ve just been informed three people were arrested in the next road so with luck these are the scum that cloned my key.

Wow
Sounds like you had a close shave .

 

[westfalia]

When you say cloned.
Do you think it is done with a frequency reader ?
Its f++kn unbelievable.
Although i do believe you.

 

[Tompoole]

I had no idea the keys could be cloned

 

[Volkywagen]

I thought the alarm was engaged when locked? Did you say it was locked when you came back to it after the incident as well?

 

[Tompoole]

When you say cloned.
Do you think it is done with a frequency reader ?
Its f++kn unbelievable.
Although i do believe you.

Yes that’s the one , not sure on the details as police and vw being vague and it’s almost impossible to get any info

 

[Tompoole]

I thought the alarm was engaged when locked? Did you say it was locked when you came back to it after the incident as well?

Yes it was locked this morning,

 

[Meoncoast]

Hope you sleep well tonight

 

[Meoncoast]

If one door is not shut fully and you lock it is not locked. If you later shut that door fully -our van locks all doors.

 

[Amarillo]

If it definitely was not left open, my #1 suspect would be an errant employee at the garage who has access to the keys.


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[5i1ver8ack]

“But as to myself, my guiding-star always is, 'Get hold of portable property’” John Wemmick, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Our road is regularly subjected to night visitors trying the doors of vehicles on the off chance that they have been left unlocked.

There is no intent to steel or damage the vehicle. The visitors are simply looking for portable property. Portable property can be sold “down the pub” for a few pounds – enough to fund a drug habit. Handbags, purses, satnavs, mobile phones, loose change – whatever.

It has become such a regular occurrence here, I have CCTV on the front of the house to monitor the nocturnal activities.

I would generally say I am very particular about locking the vehicles each time we park them. But not so long ago a nocturnal visitor rummaged through all the pockets etc. and left the driver’s door ajar before parting with the loose change parking money in the money drawer – about £2.50.

A review of the CCTV footage showed that despite my being certain that the car had been locked, it clearly hadn’t been. The nocturnal visitor had simply opened the door.

I assume that I had put the key down and lent on it, put something on top of it or something and had accidentally unlocked the car. Either that or I had failed to lock it in the first place.

My Land Rover key has two buttons on it – one closer to the key blade and one further away – just like on the VW keys. But they are wired the other way around. With the Land Rover key, the button away from the key blade locks the vehicle. With the VW key, it’s the button nearest the blade. I always have to stop and think about which button to press to lock the VW.

 

[Tompoole]

Hope you sleep well tonight

I have since found out I wasn’t the only one . Again cars were locked in morning with no damage

 

[Stoneybroke]

I have used by OBDeleven to add an audible blip to the locking as a reassurance that the Cali is locked - the clunk is so quiet. You can do this with Carista too.

 

[WelshGas]

I have used by OBDeleven to add an audible blip to the locking as a reassurance that the Cali is locked - the clunk is so quiet. You can do this with Carista too.

Can be a bit loud on a campsite.

 

[Kevthegas]

As WelshGas said noisy. But so is :-
My Snoring
Electric doors opening !

I was informed by a teenager sleeping in the next pitch to us how many times I opened the van door
during the night, and I don't have electric doors!!!

 

[MattBW]

Is your key keyless or just a regular old lock and unlock type? Keyless can be overcome quite easily by daisy chaining the signal from inside your house.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/thiev...lays-keys-signal-west-midlands-police-2017-11

The non keyless ones can be blocked from locking with a device but not as easy to "steal" the key. I believe to clone a key they would need to monitor it being locked and unlocked several times to work out your key. The blockers usually just stop it locking you think you've pressed the button and don't check its locked. Walk away from open vehicle. Quite common.

Sadly VW literally use only 4 sets of encryption keys for everything meaning if they can get a few reads they can probably work out which one yours is and clone it.

https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/12/12456014/car-key-fob-volkswagen-vulnerability-unlock-hack-crack

 

[Kmann]

The inevitable question (which will probably frustrate you) is how sure are you that the Cali was locked?
Even if you definately locked it when you last parked it could the fob buttons have been pushed accidentally there after?

My thought too.

I have turned on the heater accidentally several times, and I might as well have unlocked the car as well.
But that is hard to tell, I never pull the door handle before I push the button on the remote.

Anyway, the car should lock itself after a little while … that feature might be worth testing.

I know for sure there are scammers that can obstruct the signal while using the remote lock. But the person using it has to be close by. I am uncertain but think I also have heard about universal remotes, that can open a range of cars … not sure if it is still the fact.

 

[leightonjthomas]

There was a recent spate of thefts in our area where several locked vehicles were opened by thieves using a scanner from outside to read the keys inside the houses. They then unlocked the vehicles and either drove them away (if they were keyless starts) or took what they could from inside. No damage whatsoever. The thieves (a gang of four men) were captured on cctv but the police have had no joy in identifying them. I now keep all my keys in a tin box or lined protective pouches.