How to Protect Your Vehicle from Keyless Theft

The Dreaded Curse of the Keyless Car

Keeping Keyless Thieves at Bay This Halloween

It’s late October. The air is sharp, and the night is still. You glance outside, expecting to see your car resting on the driveway.

Instead, there’s nothing. No smashed windows, no alarms ringing, no marks of forced entry. Just emptiness — as though your car has been spirited away by unseen hands.

It sounds like something from a ghost story. Yet it is a crime happening every night across Britain: keyless vehicle theft.

Relay Attacks: Sleight of Hand in the Shadows

This isn’t the work of a crowbar or a lockpick. Relay theft is a high-tech trick. Using electronic devices, criminals capture the signal emitted by your fob — even from within your home.

One thief positions themselves near your walls or doors, capturing the code, while an accomplice stands beside your vehicle.

The signal is boosted, transmitted, and the car, fooled into believing its key is nearby, opens willingly. The thieves then drive off without resistance.

It’s as though they’ve whispered an incantation, turning your car into their own.

A Frightening Pattern Emerges

The rise of this crime is staggering. Between March 2023 and 2024, 58% of car thefts in England and Wales involved manipulation of keyless access systems.

Grove & Dean’s partner, Tracker, paints an even grimmer picture: in August 2025, 98% of thefts they handled were keyless.

It is not an anomaly. It is the new normal. Victims often describe the crime as surreal — their car gone, their home unmarked, their night undisturbed.

The Cost of Invisibility

The financial blow is immediate. High-value vehicles often attract thieves, and replacements can take months. But the emotional toll is heavier still.

Relay theft leaves no broken glass, no forced doors. Victims are left to wonder how criminals stood so close to their homes, unseen and unheard, manipulating devices from the shadows.

That sense of violation is what lingers long after the vehicle is gone.

Defensive Charms for the Modern Driver

So how do you fight an enemy you cannot see? With layers of protection — modern equivalents of charms and wards:

• Faraday pouches and boxes: block fob signals, cutting thieves off at the source.
  
  
• Physical deterrents like steering wheel and pedal locks: visible reminders that your car is too much trouble to steal.
  
  
• CCTV and outdoor lighting: thieves hate being watched — especially when their tricks rely on stealth.
  
  
• Smarter parking choices: keep your vehicle in a garage or behind locked gates when possible.
  
  
• Policy review: ensure your insurance explicitly covers this method of theft.
  
  
• And garlic? Perhaps not effective here, but if it makes you feel safer, it can’t hurt!

Each measure disrupts the thief’s seamless routine. Combined, they transform your car from easy prey into a much less tempting target.

The Insurance Lowdown

While theft is usually included in comprehensive cover, insurers are paying close attention to modern risks.

Policies increasingly note that reasonable precautions are expected, failing to take them can leave you with disputes at the very moment you need support most.

At Grove & Dean, we guide our customers through these details, ensuring their cover is as up-to-date as the threats they face.

A Halloween Reminder

This October, while lanterns glow and ghosts parade through the streets, remember the real phantoms at large the thieves who steal silently in the night.

With the right precautions and the right insurance, you can ensure they pass your driveway by.