70% of premium brand cars stolen are taken with the car’s own keys

Cobra – the stolen vehicle tracker firm – report that 70 per cent of premium brand cars stolen are taken using the car’s own keys as car security continues to improve.

There was once a time when all it took to steal a car was a wire coathanger and the ability to hotwire the ignition.

But as car makers have got better at securing the second most expensive asset most of us will ever own, car thieves have had to look for a different approach, and that approach is increasingly to relieve owners of the keys to their pride and joy.

Cobra – the vehicle tracking firm – are reporting that a massive 70 per cent of all premium brand cars stolen in 2014 – with an average value of £40k, up £6k on 2012 – are being parted from their owners using that owners keys.

A favourite trick is to grab the keys using a cane and hook through a letter box (so many of us dump car keys on the hall table) or by lifting keys from jackets and coats in pubs, restaurants and hotels.

It’s a salutary lesson for owners who believe their car is fully secured, but who are incredibly blase about the safety of their car keys.

Andrew Smith, Cobras’ MD, said:

Because standard levels of vehicle security fitted to modern cars are so effective, thieves are having to resort to stealing the keys to make off with the car.

The difficult economic climate has resulted in more high value cars being stolen to order, often by highly organised criminal gangs who frequently ship them out of the country within days.  It is vital that drivers protect their assets as best they can, starting by keeping keys safe at all times.

So, be warned. Remember you car keys are as valuable as your car and make sure you keep them safe from light-fingered herberts, and put them well away from any point of access when you get home.