Security experts are warning car owners that they shouldn’t attempt to track down and retrieve missing cars, or tackle car thieves themselves.
Car theft is on the up. New Home Office figures reveal that last year 101,198 cars were stolen in England and Wales. And police are struggling to tackle the blight which is seeing nearly 300 often high-end cars go missing every day. But why can turning Sherlock Holmes be so dangerous for drivers?
Cars might be ever more sophisticated but police still have to hunt out ones that have been stolen (Picture © Tracker)
You may think car security devices are a thing of the past. After all, less than 100,000 cars a year are stolen in the UK, a sixth of the number being taken illegally in the car-crime ridden 1990s. But a new breed of technically-savvy car thief is on the prowl.
They’re able to hack supposedly sophisticated electronic security systems in seconds meaning increasing numbers of new cars being ‘stolen to order’ by organised criminal gangs. Last month, the UK’s 10 most stolen cars were revealed by Tracker, a maker of car security devices. But even if your car isn’t on that list it could be vulnerable. The answer is to fit additional security. There’s a wide range on the market but only a limited number are recognised as being effective by the insurance industry. Here are the ones its official tester, Thatcham Research, recommends… Continue reading