AUTOMOTIVE
Turn It Off or Take It With You
Thieves use Bluetooth to steal phones and laptops from your car, but there’s an easy fix.
By Matt Bubbers | Illustration by Tom Froese
IN CASE YOU NEED another reason not to leave valuables in your car, here’s a new one: police report that thieves are wirelessly scanning parking lots to find electronic devices left inside vehicles.
Calgary Police Service says thieves are using Bluetooth scanner apps and devices in Alberta.
“Bluetooth scanners are used to detect and steal electronic devices left inside motor vehicles,” according to Calgary Police. “These scanners can identify active Bluetooth signals from phones, laptops, earbuds and other devices — even if they’re hidden from view.”
Luckily, the solution is relatively simple. Police advise people to take their devices with them, or, if they must be left in a vehicle, to turn off the devices or store them in signal-blocking Faraday bags so that they can’t be detected by scanners.
This type of high-tech theft relies on Bluetooth, the wireless connectivity technology found in laptops, smartphones, tablets, headphones and smartwatches, not to mention most new vehicles.
Even if you’re not especially tech-savvy, Bluetooth is easy to use. Drivers like it because it offers an instant wireless connection between a smartphone and a vehicle, enabling everything from navigation to phone calls to music streaming while on the go. Pair your phone and your vehicle once, and it can connect automatically every time you get in.
“Make sure the Bluetooth signal is switched off so scanners can’t detect them.”
Unfortunately, thieves also like Bluetooth for similar reasons: it’s ubiquitous and easy to use. Basic Bluetooth scanners have a range of about 10 metres, but some can reach 100 metres or more. Not only can the scanners detect the make and model of any Bluetooth device — say, a MacBook Pro laptop or a set of Bose headphones — but they can also home in on the signal, leading thieves right to it.
“Thieves are resourceful and these devices are readily available, but we can stay one step ahead of them,” says Jeff Kasbrick, AMA’s vice-president of advocacy and operations.
Calgary Police advise the public to report suspicious activity such as someone approaching vehicles in a parking lot or neighbourhood while holding a device and then walking away.
For vehicle owners, it’s always a good idea to be vigilant and do everything you can to protect yourself. In addition to making it part of your routine to hide your valuables and lock your vehicle, this also means being aware of the new techniques thieves are using and how you can take preventative action. AMA