Tips for your protection

How modern technology makes it easy for car thieves

With modern vehicles, car thieves rely on different tools than in the past: laptops and radio range extenders are the trump cards today.(Bild: stock.adobe.com/africaimages.com (Olga Yastremska, Africa Images))

More and more modern vehicles are equipped with chip radio keys (so-called keyless systems), which no longer need to be inserted into the ignition to start the car, but simply carried in your pocket. This is convenient, but also makes it easier for car thieves to carry out their criminal activities. We tell you how to protect yourself against high-tech car theft.

According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, almost 600 cars were stolen in Austria in 2022. It is difficult to trace how they were stolen - but if they are recovered or the perpetrators are caught, there are often clues. An increasing threat to newer cars - keyless systems are also available in compact and mid-range vehicles - is posed by so-called radio range extenders. They trick the car into believing that the owner's key is within range - and the thieves simply drive off with the car. But there are countermeasures.