19/04/2011
Motorists have been warned to be vigilant when selling their vehicle and inviting potential buyers to their home.
Tracker, the stolen vehicle recovery specialist, has revealed that of the thefts it was alerted to last year, stolen vehicles worth £15.8m were taken using the owner's keys.
The warning follows an incident in London were thieves posed as prospective buyers of an Audi RS4 before robbing the owner and a friend at gunpoint. They then drove off in the £27,000 car.
Although motorists can possibly save money if they sell privately this incident highlights the benefits of selling through licensed dealerships.
Stuart Chapman, police relationships manager at Tracker, explained that the number of car thefts using keys increased to 84 per cent, up from 74 per cent in 2008.
He said this confirms how vulnerable car owners are to the threat of home burglaries.
"Today's in-car security systems make it difficult for criminals, which means they are turning to more sophisticated methods.
"While stealing a car as a result of a classified advert in Auto Trader is thankfully pretty rare, car thieves are regularly breaking into homes to steal keys and, as this case proves, many resort to taking keys from owners by force."
He advised car sellers to take sensible precautions when advertising their vehicle.
"Prospective buyers are still strangers and may not be the genuine article so people should think twice before inviting them inside."
"We advise car owners to look after the security of their keys, keeping them out of sight, rather than leaving them on the hall table or a hook by the door."
