4 ms·

That's actually not hard to explain to your insurance or the police at all. This happened to me 5 weeks ago. The car was parked directly in front of my entrance

That's actually not hard to explain to your insurance or the police at all. This happened to me 5 weeks ago. The car was parked directly in front of my entrance door and the key was basically on the other side of that door. The scene of my car not being where it was supposed to be was so surreal that I did not even realize it was missing the first time when I walked out the trash. I basically walked around an invisible car. Only when I wanted to leave the house and thought, well shouldn't my car supposed to be there did it dawn on me that something is amiss. When I went to the police, the first thing they asked me was how far my keys were away from the car. My insurance was asking the exact same thing. Remarkably the car was found when the police in our neighboring country stopped a driver under the influence of drugs. Getting the car back (still ongoing) was so much hassle that I almost would be happier if it would not have been found. It goes without question that all my keys are now stored inside a metal box when not in use. I was a bit worried that the box does not shield the signal enough. The best way I could think of to test it was to put the key inside the box and hold the box to the steering column and try to start the car. It's probably not foolproof but I hope it is enough.

tjoff 8y ago
Well, now when that technique is well known it's another story. It's like the case where PIN numers on credit-cards where cracked but because noone knew it could be done people where assumed to have been negligent if the thief knew the code and automatically denied any compensation. ... until they caught the guys.
akira2501 8y ago
> I was a bit worried that the box does not shield the signal enough. They make "Faraday Bags" exactly for this purpose.
- blensor 8y ago
  I needed a quick fix that everyone in our house would be adopting quite quickly, and it should also fit into the style my wife used to decorate the entrance area. So the bowl where our keys were usually collected was replaced by a metal box with a lid. However, in the long run I won't bet on workarounds to prevent the signal to be repeated, I will rather use one of those steering wheel locks that's brightly visible from the outside. That does not prevent someone from breaking into the car, but it will prevent them from easily driving away with it. A security camera has also been placed there, so I hope overall it is enough of a deterrence
  - Cthulhu_ 8y ago
    I think you can also disable the keyless entry (that is, entry without hitting a button on the fob) in most cars. Said cars should also just stop if it doesn't detect the key while driving, so starting keylessly should still work.
- jaclaz 8y ago
  >They make "Faraday Bags" exactly for this purpose. Only "they" do not certify them in any way (for several reasons, including the fact that there is not - yet - an accepted standard for measurement) and in any case a Faraday bag (in the sense of a mesh) may be very effective at a given frequency and almost transparent to another one). A tin box should always outperform a Faraday bag in shielding RF. JFYI: https://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=3914/ https://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=3914/
mysterypie 8y ago
> Getting the car back (still ongoing) was so much hassle I'm very curious to know why was it was such a hassle? Unless the police were keeping the car as evidence in a truly major crime, why wouldn't they immediately give back your property?
- blensor 8y ago
  Ok, I'll try to post a quick summary. As a background info. The car was stolen in Austria and 5 hours later stopped in the Czech Republic close to the border to Poland. It is a leased car, so there is also the leasing company involved in all decisions. Since it seems to have been part of a bigger operation (several cars stolen over the weeks prior) a special unit working on this case got involved (from the Austrian police). When I contacted the insurance they had me sign a waiver that I will also take back the car if it takes longer than a month to return it. This should have rang some alarms bells but I was still optimistic, after all I could have basically taken a train to the Czech Republic and drove back on my own. Then it was week after week of people shoving the responsibility back and forth. The Austrian police wanted to get the car to do a forensic analysis, and wanted it to be hauled back on a truck instead of driving. The insurance company flat out told them no, because it is to expensive. Then I had to send my key to Poland (kind of ironic since this was the intended destination of the car all along) because the employee of the company that would collect and return it was located there. After 3 weeks the officer in the Czech police was on vacation (pro tip: don't let your car get stolen during the summer vacation period :) ). The following week the insurance company wanted to know if they can finally collect the car. The Czech police told them basically yes, but the Austrian police had not given their OK, and now the Austrian officer on the case was on vacation. After the 4th week when everyone finally thought that it could be returned, the Czech DA said the< needed to wait a bit longer because they still needed it for the case against the thief. Now it's week 7 and I at least have seen my car after it was hauled back to the car dealer where the insurance company has sent an adjuster to check what needs to be repaired (the y have cut the connection to the car telemetry unit and caused a few scratches on the front fender). I am not yet allowed to drive it home since those things need to be repaired first. So my expectation if that I will get it sometime later next week, which would then be 8-9 weeks in total.
foobarian 8y ago
> The scene of my car not being where it was supposed to be was so surreal that I did not even realize it was missing the first time when I walked out the trash. I basically walked around an invisible car. This reminds me of the street cleaning hazing ritual most newcomers to Cambridge, MA go through. I was about to call the police and report a stolen car when I saw the street cleaning sign and realized the day it specifies was the present. Either way not a happy feeling.

tjoff 8y ago

Well, now when that technique is well known it's another story. It's like the case where PIN numers on credit-cards where cracked but because noone knew it could be done people where assumed to have been negligent if the thief knew the code and automatically denied any compensation. ... until they caught the guys.

akira2501 8y ago

> I was a bit worried that the box does not shield the signal enough. They make "Faraday Bags" exactly for this purpose.

blensor 8y ago
I needed a quick fix that everyone in our house would be adopting quite quickly, and it should also fit into the style my wife used to decorate the entrance area. So the bowl where our keys were usually collected was replaced by a metal box with a lid. However, in the long run I won't bet on workarounds to prevent the signal to be repeated, I will rather use one of those steering wheel locks that's brightly visible from the outside. That does not prevent someone from breaking into the car, but it will prevent them from easily driving away with it. A security camera has also been placed there, so I hope overall it is enough of a deterrence
- Cthulhu_ 8y ago
  I think you can also disable the keyless entry (that is, entry without hitting a button on the fob) in most cars. Said cars should also just stop if it doesn't detect the key while driving, so starting keylessly should still work.
jaclaz 8y ago
>They make "Faraday Bags" exactly for this purpose. Only "they" do not certify them in any way (for several reasons, including the fact that there is not - yet - an accepted standard for measurement) and in any case a Faraday bag (in the sense of a mesh) may be very effective at a given frequency and almost transparent to another one). A tin box should always outperform a Faraday bag in shielding RF. JFYI: https://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=3914/ https://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=3914/

mysterypie 8y ago

> Getting the car back (still ongoing) was so much hassle I'm very curious to know why was it was such a hassle? Unless the police were keeping the car as evidence in a truly major crime, why wouldn't they immediately give back your property?

blensor 8y ago
Ok, I'll try to post a quick summary. As a background info. The car was stolen in Austria and 5 hours later stopped in the Czech Republic close to the border to Poland. It is a leased car, so there is also the leasing company involved in all decisions. Since it seems to have been part of a bigger operation (several cars stolen over the weeks prior) a special unit working on this case got involved (from the Austrian police). When I contacted the insurance they had me sign a waiver that I will also take back the car if it takes longer than a month to return it. This should have rang some alarms bells but I was still optimistic, after all I could have basically taken a train to the Czech Republic and drove back on my own. Then it was week after week of people shoving the responsibility back and forth. The Austrian police wanted to get the car to do a forensic analysis, and wanted it to be hauled back on a truck instead of driving. The insurance company flat out told them no, because it is to expensive. Then I had to send my key to Poland (kind of ironic since this was the intended destination of the car all along) because the employee of the company that would collect and return it was located there. After 3 weeks the officer in the Czech police was on vacation (pro tip: don't let your car get stolen during the summer vacation period :) ). The following week the insurance company wanted to know if they can finally collect the car. The Czech police told them basically yes, but the Austrian police had not given their OK, and now the Austrian officer on the case was on vacation. After the 4th week when everyone finally thought that it could be returned, the Czech DA said the< needed to wait a bit longer because they still needed it for the case against the thief. Now it's week 7 and I at least have seen my car after it was hauled back to the car dealer where the insurance company has sent an adjuster to check what needs to be repaired (the y have cut the connection to the car telemetry unit and caused a few scratches on the front fender). I am not yet allowed to drive it home since those things need to be repaired first. So my expectation if that I will get it sometime later next week, which would then be 8-9 weeks in total.

foobarian 8y ago

> The scene of my car not being where it was supposed to be was so surreal that I did not even realize it was missing the first time when I walked out the trash. I basically walked around an invisible car. This reminds me of the street cleaning hazing ritual most newcomers to Cambridge, MA go through. I was about to call the police and report a stolen car when I saw the street cleaning sign and realized the day it specifies was the present. Either way not a happy feeling.