Wednesday, May 31, 2017

San Diego Jeep Thefts Linked To High Tech Hacking Ring

The theft of over 150, Jeep Wranglers in San Diego County over the last few years has been linked to hacking of the electronic keys of those vehicles in the middle of the night, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, it has indicted nine members of the Hooligans Motorcycle gang for participating in a scheme to steal more than 150 Jeep Wrangers, worth approximately $4.5M, by retrieving the vehicle identification number of those vehicles in advance, and then using that to program duplicate key fobs for those Jeeps. That hack allowed the criminals to simply drive off with the vehicles, which were later sold or stripped for parts in Tijuana. Recent model Jeeps have been shown being hacked with laptops, and even remotely turning a Jeep's steering wheel at high speed. Image of a Jeep recently stolen in San Diego via a local Jeep forum.