Sold more than 10 million copies since its debut in 1994, the RAV4 is one of the most popular SUVs in the world. Unfortunately, this also makes it a prime target for thieves. Including in France, where a criminal network specializing in this Japanese SUV has just been dismantled in Côte-d’Or (21). Following the theft of 18 copies since the beginning of the year, the Dijon judicial police have indeed conducted the investigation. After numerous surveillance and the hearing of several victims, four men were thus arrested at the end of October. One of them was even imprisoned very quickly, after being presented to the prosecution of the court of Dijon. The Toyota RAV4s thus stolen were then resold in Africa.
Starting by means of a box
The modus operandi was well established. The thefts were all committed on the public highway, in front of the homes of the unfortunate motorists. Nothing too complicated for the delinquents, who obviously had a box capable of starting the car without starting the keys. A practice also known under the name of “mouse-jacking” and facilitated by the advent of hands-free entry and starting systems, which are often far too easy to hack. Earlier this year, another thief specializing in this vehicle had already been arrested in the Paris region. But the Japanese bestseller is far from being the only popular target for thieves. The Peugeot 3008 and DS 7 are also the subject of numerous complaints.
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Thieves very fond of modern SUVs
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Generally speaking, any modern SUV can be targeted, with offenders often acting on orders from their customers. A phenomenon against which there is unfortunately no miracle cure. Just try to park, as much as possible, in a private parking lot or garage, and don’t hesitate to invest in an “old-fashioned” anti-theft stick to slow down thieves. Finally, you can also place your hands-free key in an RFID pocket, as Kia had proposed a few years ago. This will prevent the signal it regularly emits from being picked up by offenders, then amplified in order to steal your vehicle. This type of accessory costs less than fifteen euros on the Internet.
Source : Bienpublic.com
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