Car theft: This is how they do it

Car keys are stolen from the foyer, from the wardrobe at the pool, or by already being in the car in the garage, according to damage experts at If.

-For car owners, it is very important to have complete control of the key. The top stairwell in the entryway is where a thief looks first. Look for a more difficult place, says If communications director Sigmund Clements in a press release.

– He says that the car key is literally a valuable key worth hundreds of thousands of kroner, and it should be taken care of in addition to, for example, your passport.

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Breaks at home

All modern cars have safety technology which means that the number of car thefts has declined sharply in Norway in recent decades. In 20 years, car theft in Norway has decreased by more than 80 percent.

The introduction of electronic immobilizers as a market standard has made it difficult for car thieves.

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Watch the video: Here things get worse at 3000 metres

Although new cars are difficult to steal, between 2,000 and 3,000 cars have been stolen annually in recent years. This is evidenced by figures released by the industry organization Finans Norge. The steering wheel locks, electronic immobilizers and GPS tracking of modern cars make the job worse for car thieves.

– New stolen cars almost without exception disappear because the thief managed to get the key. Such key thefts occur, among others, during home burglaries and theft from key safes at car dealerships or businesses. Home break-ins often occur as part of order thefts for various makes and models of automobiles. In this case, car thieves have simply done extensive prep work and focused on your car, Clements says.

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Overview of the numbers of car thefts in Norway between 1997 and 2022. Source: Finance Norge

Main signal amplification

– There are also some cases of so-called signal amplification from switches in Norway, but these cases belong to the exceptions. Such action may be more prominent abroad, Clements says.

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– My best advice is to keep the key in a tin lunch box at home. Then you protect the switch antenna. If you're particularly concerned about security, he says, it might be a good idea to have a bit of aluminum foil around the key while traveling.

Shades away from electric cars

Electric cars are not attractive to steal, although there have been some thefts from them as well, according to Eve.

– When you are a car thief, you do not know how much electricity is in the car. Hence, it is unnerving to sit and wait at the nearest charging station while you have to recharge. Many electric cars have smart tracking technology, cameras that can capture images of a thief, and good security systems. These things make electric cars less attractive to steal. Charging networks are also somewhat fragile in remote countries. Norwegian petrol and diesel cars are more vulnerable to theft, says Clementz.

He also has another tip right up his alley:

– It is wise to take advantage of the various anti-theft measures implemented by car manufacturers, for example entering a code at startup, adds Clements.