Melbourne car owners falling victim to secret hi-tech vehicle theft hack

Dodgy car thieves have worked out a way to steal high-powered sports cars without using the vehicle’s keys, and it’s leaving Melbourne car owners scratching their heads.

Dodgy car thieves are deploying a sneaky new tactic to unlock and steal high-end sports cars without the vehicle’s keys.

Dozens of luxury car owners have fallen victim to the wave of car thefts across Melbourne that is forcing car owners to install third-party security systems.

The hack — which the Herald Sun has chosen not to detail — involves crooks bypassing the vehicle’s security system to program the car to their own spare key.

It allows thieves to break into the vehicle, reprogram their key and drive off within just a few minutes, all while the unsuspecting victims’ keys are inside their home.

Thieves are heading to homes equipped with their own programming technology sourced from the internet and many are understood to be selling the vehicles for parts.

Thieves have developed a new plan to steal high-end sports cars. Picture: Facebook.

Federal Police arrest a man in the northern suburb. Picture: Facebook

The Herald Sun understands Holden Commodores — specifically VFs — are one of the more common cars to be subjected to the new-age method.

There were 855 Commodores reported stolen between April 2023 and March this year, 300 more than the number of Mazdas stolen during the same period.

And while Commodores were the most commonly driven car in Victoria last year — Holden ceased production of the vehicles a number of years ago.

It is also believed Apple AirTags — a small piece of tracking technology — have been discreetly placed on several vintage cars during a suburban car show just weeks ago.

Car owners have suggested planting kill switches on their vehicles, which interrupts the process of starting the vehicle’s ignition.

A handful of suburban mechanics across Melbourne have already begun advertising their services to install the antitheft technology.

Police search Damian Newton’s stolen Commodore. Picture: Supplied

Police recover the stolen Commodore. Picture: Supplied

Six Holdens with a combined value of $600,000 were this week seized by police as part of an investigation into another rebirthing syndicate.

Detectives seized a Commodore GTS, VF Commodore, Holden GTSR, Holden Motorsport and two Maloo utes while arresting a Doveton man.

Doncaster man Damian Newton’s prized VF Commodore was allegedly stolen from his driveway as he slept just weeks ago.

He said his keys were with him inside before he heard his vehicle’s ignition start just after 1am.

He said the crooks had managed to break into his vehicle and program their own key to start the car before they took off.

He said he wouldn’t be surprised if insurance premiums began to rise as a result of the wave of car thefts, which is occurring across the UK.

“I’ve still got the key but by the time I got to the front door they were racing up the street,” he said.

“They’re coming prepared and doing this in under five minutes.

“It’s happening every day, it seems like it’s getting worse.”

Originally published as Melbourne car owners falling victim to secret hi-tech vehicle theft hack