Brazen thieves are caught on CCTV as they use a laptop to hack a set of car keys inwards an estate agent’s house and open her Mercedes remotely before driving away
By Richard Spillett, Crime Correspondent For Mailonline Ten:48 BST eighteen Apr 2017, updated 08:26 BST twenty Apr two thousand seventeen
- Duo found £35,000 Mercedes had disappeared from their driveway
- CCTV demonstrated thieves holding up bag believed to contain laptop
- Owners say they may have hacked into the car despite keys being in kitchen
- Mercedes says cars have extensive security. Local police are investigating
An estate agent claims brazen thieves used a laptop to hack the keys to her Mercedes from outside her home before driving off in the £35,000 car.
Paige Foster was horrified to detect her fucking partner’s almost fresh vehicle had disappeared from outside her home in Grays, Essex last week.
CCTV from outside her home shows two fellows evidently holding up a satchel containing a laptop to build up entry to the car.
In the footage, a masked figure is seen walking round to the driver’s side of the Mercedes while another holds the satchel up against the wall.
The car’s door then opens and one of the pair drives it away – despite the vehicle’s keys remaining on Ms Foster’s kitchen table.
The 23-year-old believes the theft of her and fucking partner Richard Haydon’s car was done to order and says the incident has left her fearing for her safety.
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She said: ‘When I spotted the movie it made me feel sick – these people know where I live, they have obviously followed me or looked me up to find the car.
‘The CCTV shows them walk round the back so they can’t be seen by the cameras – they just pop up at my car.
‘It looks like the stud up against the house has an iPad or a laptop in the leather satchel which contains the device that picks up the signal – it looks like they can decode the key to open the car.
‘We have been told it’s some sort of Russian military software.
‘When I witnessed the footage I burst into tears. The fact that someone was watching me and took it not even a metre away from the front of the house is awful.’
She added: ‘One of the boys drove off in the car while the other, the one with the satchel, walked off – he might have been walking to his own car which could have been parked up on the estate.’
Ms Foster reported the incident to the police and contacted her insurance company who flagged that an HPI vehicle background check had been run on the car on April five – six days before the Mercedes vanished.
She added: ‘I’ve heard that other vehicles have been taken from the area – two weeks ago another Mercedes and a Range Rover was taken.’
She is now sharing the CCTV footage in a bid to catch the culprits and to warn others about the hack it shows up thieves can carry out.
Paige said: ‘Cars that have the Keyless Go system don’t need the key to begin the engine – it just needs to be within a certain distance, it’s usually in my pocket.
‘The night the car was taken the key was stored in the back of the house, not in the hallway near the front door.
‘I would attempt to avoid the keyless system in future and would strongly recommend people to look into the fob guard which protects the car’s wireless system.
‘Mercedes have been truly helpful, they’ve attempted to track the car down using the tracker but it looks like it’s been deactivated.’
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson said: ‘We’re sorry to learn about this customer’s practice but we’re not aware of any complaints resulting from theft related to keyless entry/embark systems on Mercedes-Benz cars.
‘All Mercedes-Benz vehicles have extensive security and anti-theft protection systems. Data security, data protection and anti-theft protection are significant elements in our research and development activities.
‘The development of protection and safety mechanisms is continued over the entire life cycle of a vehicle.
‘When enhancing our protective mechanisms we take into account the latest skill about criminal methods and about attacks on security systems.
‘We also suggest our customers the option of deactivating the radio signal with two clicks of the key in order to prevent manhandle.’
Essex Police confirmed they were looking into the incident.
An Essex Police spokesman said: ‘Police are investigating the theft of a car from an address in Grays.
‘A black Mercedes Benz C220 was taken by two boys inbetween 10pm, Monday, April ten and 9am Tuesday, April 11.
‘The very first suspect is described as being of large build and inbetween 5ft5in and 6ft. He was wearing jeans and a black masked top.
‘The 2nd suspect is described as being of skinny build and around 5ft5in tall. He was wearing jeans with a grey bod warmer jacket.’