Federal and California state law enforcement authorities have broken up a sophisticated auto-theft ring run by a Tijuana-based motorcycle club that swiped 150 Jeep Wranglers in San Diego County over the past several years. The Jeeps, worth $4.5 million, were sold in Mexico or stripped for parts that were then sold in Mexico.
Authorities said the thieves exploited a design feature of the Jeep Wrangler, gained access to a proprietary database that contains codes used to create duplicate keys for each car and then used a high-tech computer to get away with the cars.
Thieves would target a Jeep in a San Diego neighborhood, getting the critical vehicle identification number. Armed with that, they accessed the key database, which contained two special codes: one for creating a pattern to make a new key and the second that programmed a computer chip in the key that was linked to the car's computer system.
It's not precisely clear how the thieves got access to the database, but a car dealership in Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja peninsula appears to be involved.
Link: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-countywide-crime-20170530-story.html
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday June 04 2017, @12:09AM (3 children)
Jeep claims that 150 of their cars are worth $4.5 million. Some Jeep owners would argue that claim.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 04 2017, @12:45AM (1 child)
And most would agree. Or they wouldn't be Jeep owners.
Most Jeep ownership is by choice.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday June 04 2017, @01:25AM
The joke's on them, Jeeps are pieces of shit. I can kick thr bumper right off of one of those.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 04 2017, @01:47AM
That's only $30K per jeep.
Pricing on high end jeeps is nearly double that.