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Threat · West Midlands
Car theft in Birmingham, and what actually stops it.
No broken glass, no alarm, no noise. Almost every car taken from a Birmingham driveway now leaves quietly, using its own systems against it. This page explains the three methods in use, the warning signs on your own street, and which countermeasures are worth paying for.
The three methods
They are different in execution and identical in principle. Each one produces a valid key signal without the key, and your car's factory immobiliser has no way to tell the difference.
Relay attack
Your keyless key is not asleep in the bowl by the door. It is awake, listening and answering. Two people work together: one holds an amplifier close to wherever the keys live — a front door, a hallway window, a porch wall — while the other stands at the car. The car's invitation is carried between them, the key answers as though the car were on the doorstep, and the answer is carried back. The doors unlock and the start button works. It takes between fifteen and sixty seconds, most of which is walking. The full explanation.
CAN injection
Some vehicles have wiring reachable from outside the body, behind a headlight or under a wing mirror. Where that wiring reaches the internal network, a device can send the car the same instructions a legitimate module would send: unlock, and allow start. The car obeys because as far as it can tell, the instruction came from inside itself. How CAN injection works.
Adding a new key through the OBD port
The oldest of the three, and the one that never went away. With access to the diagnostic port, a fresh working key is written into the car in minutes. The new key is, to the vehicle, indistinguishable from yours. OBD theft explained.
Once running, a car will not shut down because the key has gone out of range. That behaviour exists so you do not stall on the M6 when a key battery dies. Most cars show a dashboard warning and keep going.
Warning signs on your street
- Indicators flashing or mirrors folding when nobody touched the car. Someone tried a handle and walked on.
- The same unfamiliar vehicle parked nearby across several evenings, particularly with someone sitting in it.
- Neighbours describing people walking the pavement holding something small close to front doors.
- A cable tie, a plastic marker or a chalk mark on a wheel arch or a kerb. Target marking still happens.
- A headlight unit sitting slightly proud, a broken bumper clip, scratches around a wing mirror base. On a car that is otherwise untouched, treat that as a survey rather than as damage.
- Doorbell footage of two people passing in the small hours. Check it. Most people never look.
If any of that describes your street, report it to West Midlands Police on 101 and tell your neighbours. Vehicles are almost always watched before they are taken.
What actually stops it
Three things work. One of them is free.
Break the radio path
A signal-blocking pouch, a metal tin, or simply keeping keys away from external walls and doors. Nearly free, and genuinely effective — while the key is actually in there. The failure is human: the pouch is used on Monday and the key is back on the worktop by Thursday. Test yours monthly by locking the key inside and trying the car.
Put the key to sleep
Many keys have a sleep mode triggered by a button sequence, and most handbooks bury the instructions in a chapter nobody reads. Ten minutes with the manual is worth it.
Add a check the key cannot pass
This is the only one that keeps working when the human element fails, and it is the reason this company exists. A second immobiliser that authorises against something other than the key — a paired phone, a proximity TAG — sits entirely outside a relay attack's reach. A relay carries a key signal. If the second check never listens to the key, there is nothing to carry.
A second immobiliser does not stop the doors being opened and does not stop anything being taken out of the car. It stops the vehicle being driven away, which happens to be the expensive part. What we fit in Birmingham.
Four things people believe that are not true
"It only happens to expensive cars."
It happens to keyless cars. Mainstream family models and hybrids are taken in volume because the parts sell. Value is not the filter; convenience is. The DVLA picture.
"My car is old, so I am fine."
You are safe from relay attacks and exposed to OBD key programming instead, which is quieter, older and never stopped.
"The tracker will get it back."
Sometimes. A large share of stolen vehicles are never returned. Organised teams leave a car parked in a quiet street for a day or two to see whether anyone comes for it, and check it for trackers before it goes anywhere that matters. Tracker or immobiliser?
"Foil round the key is the same as a pouch."
Sometimes it works, often it does not, and you will not know which until it matters. Foil has gaps and creases. Buy a proper pouch and test it.
If it has already happened
- Report it to the police straight away and get a crime reference number.
- Tell your insurer, and your finance company if the vehicle is on finance.
- If you have a tracker, give the location to the police. Do not go there yourself.
- Check whether any spare key is missing, and whether anyone had access to the vehicle recently.
- When the replacement arrives, fit the second check before it sits on the drive overnight. The same address gets revisited more often than people expect.
Questions we get asked
What should I do first if my car is stolen in Birmingham?
Report it to the police immediately and get a crime reference number, then tell your insurer and, if the vehicle is on finance, the finance company. If you have a tracker, give the location to the police rather than going to it yourself.
Will my alarm go off during a relay theft?
No. The car was opened with what it believes is its own key, so the alarm disarms normally. There is nothing for it to react to, which is exactly why relay theft is so quiet.
Does a Faraday pouch stop every kind of keyless theft?
It stops relay attacks while the key is genuinely inside it. It does not stop key cloning, CAN injection or somebody taking the physical key. It is a good habit and a poor substitute for an immobiliser.
Are only expensive cars targeted?
No. Keyless entry is the filter, not value. Mainstream family cars and hybrids are taken in large numbers because their parts sell well.
Does a steering lock still do anything?
Yes, as a deterrent. It is visible from outside the car, which means it can move a thief on to an easier target before they touch anything. It will not stop somebody determined and equipped.
Should I report suspicious behaviour on my street?
Yes. Report it to West Midlands Police on 101, or 999 if a theft is in progress, and tell your neighbours. Vehicles are usually watched before they are taken.
Make the next one a wasted trip
Tell us what you drive and we will confirm compatibility, configuration and a fixed price for fitting in Birmingham.
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