Many modern PCO rental vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius and Toyota Corolla, feature keyless access as stock technology. The method is convenient because it enables PCO car drivers to enter and operate their vehicles while the key fob is in their pocket. Despite its many benefits, keyless technology nevertheless has certain downsides.
In the United Kingdom, thefts of vehicles without keys are on the rise. In recent years, British drivers have felt the full force of the keyless crime plague. Several of these incidents were “relay” thefts in which thieves used keyless technology to steal automobiles.
Despite skyrocketing rates of automobile theft and a consistent supply of surveillance tapes showing automobiles being stolen from owners’ garages in the dark of the night, barely half of the motorists with vehicles boasting keyless entry utilize specific gadgets and household objects to prevent this form of theft, a new survey finds.
Data from Tracker shows that London has the highest rate of vehicle theft and recovery. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine how keyless entry functions, how automobile thieves steal vehicles without keys, and what can PCO car drivers do to prevent keyless theft of their PCO rental vehicles.
How Does It Work?
A keyless fob’s internal transmitter allows it to broadcast and receive secure radio signals. By exchanging these one-of-a-kind, encoded signals, the automobile and key can communicate with one another to lock and unlock the gates whenever the key is out of range. If carjackers target your vehicle, they can access it without needing a key by utilizing its keyless entry feature.
In two minutes, a PCO car can be stolen right in front of your residence during one of the most typical forms of keyless PCO rental vehicle theft. The criminals employ two different tools to pull this off.
The signals through your PCO car key will be first caught or boosted, and then the duplicated signal is relayed to another transmitter. The technology employed by burglars simply amplifies the transmission from the key within your house, deceiving the PCO car’s system into assuming it is close enough to open.
How To Prevent Keyless Theft?
The following are some suggestions to help you keep your PCO cars safe and decrease the likelihood that anyone will be a casualty of keyless access theft:
1. Be Cautious About Where You Keep Your Key Fob
It should be kept as far as possible from the PCO car, as well as from any windows in your house. If you want to keep the fob from broadcasting electronic transmissions, a Faraday bag or a metallic container like a cookie tin are both good options.
2. Lock Your PCO Car
Always lock your PCO rental vehicles, even if you’ll be gone for just a few minutes to do something like pay for parking. If you want to be extra safe, you should hit the keypad twice to ensure it’s secured and all the other safety features are switched on.
3. Invest In Safety Precautions
If you own a hybrid PCO car, you can install a lock on your catalytic converter to make it more difficult for criminals to steal the converter from your PCO rental car. If you don’t currently possess one, it’s also a good idea to get a tracker mechanism, preferably one that’s been approved by Thatcham.
4. Be Wary Of Hackers
Additional innovations, like integrated maps and news bulletins, can be streamed onto the multimedia panel of many PCO rental automobiles. However, these services sometimes necessitate login credentials or the usage of smartphone applications. Never share your auto application or portal login credentials with anybody, and always use a secure password.
Now that we’ve discussed how to keep your keyless PCO car safe from theft, you should also know how to get a PCO rental car, and no company has a more impressive fleet than G&M Direct Hire? They offer a wide range of PCO rental cars in London. Contact them today and learn more about how they can help you get started.
