Stuff keeps disappearing from my van

[kp64zl]

My van (Beach 6.0) is kept outside on an urban street. Crime levels in the area are reasonably typical for UK cities.

Anyway, stuff keeps disappearing from inside the van -- i.e. items in the glove compartment, and from the various shelves, cubby holes.

No evidence of forced entry ever. Neither has the van been moved.

Previously I thought it was because I accidentally have left it unlocked (which does happen, but I am being more careful), but things keep disappearing

Could it be that someone has cloned the remote so they can get in? are there any known instances of this happening??? Only happens outside my house.

it's rather disconcerting

 

[kurienp]

Would you classify what's disappearing as 'valuables'?

 

[kp64zl]

sometimes valuable, sometimes not...


on different occasions

1) pair of small binoculars (valuable)
2) box of electric leads (all kinds of different USB charging leads, each not valuable but lots of them)
3) pair of sunglasses ( was expensive when bought (£100) but very old and scratched)
4) money on at least two occasions (about £5 max, in coins for parking)

etc

but never any sign of entry to the van, nor any damage to the van. So not sure I notice the moment things are gone, so impossible to know when this has happened.

 

[altvic]

My van (Beach 6.0) is kept outside on an urban street. Crime levels in the area are reasonably typical for UK cities.

Anyway, stuff keeps disappearing from inside the van -- i.e. items in the glove compartment, and from the various shelves, cubby holes.

No evidence of forced entry ever. Neither has the van been moved.

Previously I thought it was because I accidentally have left it unlocked (which does happen, but I am being more careful), but things keep disappearing

Could it be that someone has cloned the remote so they can get in? are there any known instances of this happening??? Only happens outside my house.

it's rather disconcerting

Have you been upsetting partner or your kids?. A great way to get you back with the spare keys.

 

[kp64zl]

Unlikely -- they have other ways to wind me up!


It could be that I have left the van unlocked and opportunist has been in. Often we see people going down the street in the evenings checking each car in turn. But I am becoming more convinced that it might not be the case now....

 

[kp64zl]

Millions of cars at risk as keyless entry systems can be hacked, report says

Cars that use Volkswagen’s remote keyless entry system are vulnerable to theft using equipment costing £30, researchers claim

www.theguardian.com

I wonder if the VW california shares this vulnerability? (old article, my van was built early 2019)

 

[Lambeth Cali]

It’s happened a couple of times from my Golf. An old iPod and a few parking coins. It’s very easy to access any car that has a remote key.
It’s the same system on all cars, pretty much.
There are a few Range Rovers and even a MacLaren near us that have steering locks on them.
Some of my neighbors have recorded people wandering around at 4am trying car doors, on their Ring doorbells.

 

[Amarillo]

Have you been upsetting partner or your kids?. A great way to get you back with the spare keys.

Loose coins or sweets missing, and my first suspicion would be my boys. But sunglasses and charging leads would seem unlikely unless at an age where they could flog them and spend their illicitly gained cash on sweets.

Second suspicion would be a chancer testing for unlocked doors. I’ve seen dozens of those recorded on video doorbells and posted to local online forums.

A cloned key seems most unlikely. Anyone going to the trouble of cloning your key is looking to steal your car, not loose change from the ashtray.

 

[WelshGas]

Millions of cars at risk as keyless entry systems can be hacked, report says

Cars that use Volkswagen’s remote keyless entry system are vulnerable to theft using equipment costing £30, researchers claim

www.theguardian.com

I wonder if the VW california shares this vulnerability? (old article, my van was built early 2019)

No, it does not. Totally different system.

If the cause is inadvertently leaving it unlocked by accident.
Put a “Shed Alarm” in it when leaving. That way any chancer will have a shock.

 

[pluc99]

My van (Beach 6.0) is kept outside on an urban street. Crime levels in the area are reasonably typical for UK cities.

Anyway, stuff keeps disappearing from inside the van -- i.e. items in the glove compartment, and from the various shelves, cubby holes.

No evidence of forced entry ever. Neither has the van been moved.

Previously I thought it was because I accidentally have left it unlocked (which does happen, but I am being more careful), but things keep disappearing

Could it be that someone has cloned the remote so they can get in? are there any known instances of this happening??? Only happens outside my house.

it's rather disconcerting

Have you spoken to any of your neighbours? If your suspicion were founded they would be experiencing similar losses.

 

[California_Ocean]

Millions of cars at risk as keyless entry systems can be hacked, report says

Cars that use Volkswagen’s remote keyless entry system are vulnerable to theft using equipment costing £30, researchers claim

www.theguardian.com

I wonder if the VW california shares this vulnerability? (old article, my van was built early 2019)

No, the VW vans don't have keyless entry ... and even if they did, that vulnerability has now been closed by most manufacturers.

It used to work with a transmitter/receiver between the car and the keys ... one thief would stand by the house door, the other would then pull the car door handle. The car would then issue a challenge to the key. Their equipment bridges the gap between the car and the keys, forwards the challenge and returns the keys response to the car which then opens.

Now, keys have accelerometers in them and they will not respond to a challenge if they have been stationary for more than a few minutes ... ie sitting on a table top or hanging on the wall.

The article is also misleading as it says 'keyless' but then describes a grab and jam attack on a key fob - which isn't keyless entry. This one affects rolling codes where the code sent to the car constantly changes, so when you unlock the car the code is grabbed and jammed, so the car doesn't unlock. The owner presses again and it is grabbed and jammed again and the previous grabbed code is sent. Then the car unlocks, leaving the thief with the next code to open the car. This vulnerability was made more difficult with better rolling codes and algorithms and seperate codes for lock and unlock. Some of the older chip-sets were also compromised as thieves had worked out the algorithm behind the rolling codes.

If you experience a failure of your remote where it would normally work then next time you park up lock and unlock a few times.

 

[wilburthewombat]

If your wifi signal reaches the van, you could put in a Ring battery cam. It wouldn't stop any thieves, but you'd know what was going on (and you could even chat to them while they're doing it).

 

[Meoncoast]

I would put one of my small trail cameras inside the van or find some small spy camera on ebay or sleep in the van

 

[2into1]

Put a “Shed Alarm” in it when leaving. That way any chancer will have a shock.

I thought of getting one for mine but reckoned if I couldn't remember to lock the van, I'd probably forget to set the shed alarm...

 

[Tompoole]

My van (Beach 6.0) is kept outside on an urban street. Crime levels in the area are reasonably typical for UK cities.

Anyway, stuff keeps disappearing from inside the van -- i.e. items in the glove compartment, and from the various shelves, cubby holes.

No evidence of forced entry ever. Neither has the van been moved.

Previously I thought it was because I accidentally have left it unlocked (which does happen, but I am being more careful), but things keep disappearing

Could it be that someone has cloned the remote so they can get in? are there any known instances of this happening??? Only happens outside my house.

it's rather disconcerting

We had same issue , somehow someone can open ours and lock it after removing items … police not interested neither were the dealers , both said we must of left it open …. However, the van was locked and glove box and dash box were opened . So thieves definitely able to unlock van without my keys. Our van doesn’t have key less entry

 

[westfalia]

1) pair of small binoculars (valuable)
2) box of electric leads (all kinds of different USB charging leads, each not valuable but lots of them)
3) pair of sunglasses ( was expensive when bought (£100) but very old and scratched)
4) money on at least two occasions (about £5 max, in coins for parking)

I've got all of those things you mention in a drawer somewhere in the kitchen
but I'm not guilty.

 

[kurienp]

I've got all of those things you mention in a drawer somewhere in the kitchen
but I'm not guilty.

Prove it. Let's see a pic

 

[Frankyworthy]

Prove it. Let's see a pic

Leave pic on his passenger seat next time you’re in it

 

[Paul G - 2022 Ocean]

I’ve just opened the WeConnect app to make sure ours is locked! The paranoia strong in this thread

 

[California_Ocean]

There are still the old- fashioned ways of opening cars without the keys ....

 

[Georgeo]

There are still the old- fashioned ways of opening cars without the keys ....

My daughter had my van for a weeks holiday. She locked herself out of it and the AA took 2 mins. to open it with a “blank” key bought from Amazon. the internal alarm had been switched of for camping. Do you have an internal alarm?

 

[California_Ocean]

My daughter had my van for a weeks holiday. She locked herself out of it and the AA took 2 mins. to open it with a “blank” key bought from Amazon. the internal alarm had been switched of for camping. Do you have an internal alarm?

There is a good YouTube channel which goes into how locks work and how to defeat them ...

The LockPickingLawyer ... requires a bit more skill than the wedge I mentioned earlier. Here's an example car door lock.

 

[Vagophile]

One of my brother's hobbies is lock picking. Would you believe that there are clubs with local and national competitions.