The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) says criminals are changing how they steal cars by targeting drivers directly in public parking lots.
Director of Government Relations for CAA South Central Ontario Elliott Silverstein said thieves are now combining distraction tactics with the use of high-tech signal-stealing tools.
He said this comes amid a 22 per cent decline in Ontario vehicle thefts in 2025 compared to the previous year.
That's according to stats from the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
"Some of the efforts we've been putting in have been resulting in some reduced amounts of theft," said Silverstein. "There are tools that are out there that are used for other types of work that can be used illegally to try and gain access to somebody's radio frequency from their key fob. But the requirement is that you have to be at a close range in order to grab that frequency. That's why we've sent out this this reminder, to tell everybody to be vigilant and that if something really doesn't seem natural or authentic, to be mindful of your scene, mindful of your surroundings and get to safety."
Silverstein said it only takes a few seconds for a thief to gain access to a vulnerable key fob.
"Perhaps the suspect says they're lost or they're not sure which direction they should be heading in as you're parking your car on a street in certain areas," he said. "It really only takes a few seconds for a thief to gain access to a vulnerable key fob. Moments after that, if you're in a parking lot at a shopping centre and you're going in to get a couple of things or going to visit a friend, you leave your car locked and unattended. If they've been able to get access to that key fob, they can certainly try and access your car after that."
Silverstein said the CAA has been trying to push the federal government to update some of the standards to try and protect vehicles down the road.
"Going back to the summit they held two years ago in Ottawa to talk about vehicle theft, which was really the epicentre of where we've seen some of the changes that have come about, they began to make those commitments to updating vehicle standards and they still continue to work towards that," said Silverstein. "The challenge is that they have not been updated in nearly two decades and that some of these changes are on the horizon, but they've yet to come into effect. Every day that passes is another risk for people to be vulnerable to these types of tactics. And the more that we can update standards, update vehicles, make it harder to steal vehicles, the safer we're going to be all across the province."
Silverstein said it's crucial to lock your vehicle the moment you get out and keep your keys securely on your person instead of leaving them in shopping carts or purses.
Residents are encouraged to store their key fobs inside RFID-blocking Faraday pouches to stop wireless signal interception entirely.
For added security, drivers should use physical steering wheel locks, install aftermarket engine immobilizers, and wipe saved home addresses from their in-car GPS units.
