Family’s Australia roadtrip ruined as high-tech thieves use legal key-cloning gadget to steal, burn out 4WD

A concerning new detail is emerging in car thefts, after a group of thieves managed to swipe an Australian family’s 4WD using cloned car keys. Hayley Kent, her husband and their four children were caravanning across the nation, when the thieves struck using a key fob generator. The generator works by hacking into the car’s computer, wiping the existing keys and creating new ones. It is legal to buy and can easily purchased online. “My husband got home about 5.30pm and said ‘where’s the car,’” Ms Kent told 7News. “It’s just a kick in the guts.” The family’s LandCruiser was found gutted this week, burnt out with heavy damage. “I am going back to the old steering wheel lock and having everything on it,” she said. NRMA Insurance’s Shawn Ticehurst told 7News keyless car thefts have become a “global trend”. Keeping your car keys stored in a faraday punch or even wrapped in aluminium foil so that it cannot receive signals and be wiped are easy ways to thwart potential car thieves.