Raleigh man says hackers stole his 'dream car' from outside of his home using key fob signal

Newer, higher-end cars often use keyless fobs, which hackers can easily use to re-route the signal to a device in their hands.

"I was heartbroken, I almost wanted to cry," said Raleigh resident Michael Norris.

Tuesday morning, Norris noticed his BMW was not in his parking spot outside his home.

He called several different tow truck companies and checked with his bank to see if they came for it by mistake.

"She said no, so I knew at that point, the car was gone," he said.

"That was my dream car. That was a keeper," he added.

Norris' car locks automatically and his key fob was with him inside his home, hanging by the door.

"How would you get the car out of the lot without the alarm going off, or breaking the window?" Norris said.

This is able to be achieved if a person stood outside Norris' home with a device that receives the signal sent by his vehicle's fob. The signal is received by hackers if they placed another device outside Norris' car.

Thieves may have used new tech trick to unlock cars, steal cash at Dix Park

"Surely, mine was not the first they got like that," he said.

In fact, many experts say it is fairly easy to steal a person's car this way. A team of Chinese researchers pulled off this kind of hack for just $22, to demonstrate how easy it was, Wired reports.

According to 2018 data from Tracker, high-end car models like Mercedes and BMW are most prone to these attacks.

Norris does not think he will see his vehicle again.

"Whoever got it had a good score," he said.

Industry experts say the only way to truly protect yourself from these hackers is to invest in a car without keyless fob entry.

Massachusets Sen. Ed Markey sent a letter to automakers this summer urging them to disclose more data about the safety of key fobs and what they are doing to improve safety.

"We therefore urge [you] to take all necessary steps to ensure that keyless entry systems, once a security innovation that deterred thieves, do not become a security liability for them to exploit," the letter says.