There are no signs of the car door being pried, the car windows are intact, but the valuables in the car are missing. What's going on? Recently, the suspect Sun Mou who stole property in the car was transferred to the Xicheng Procuratorate for review and prosecution. They used a car code grabber purchased online to remotely intercept the car lock password, and then remotely controlled the car lock to steal it. In fact, cases of theft using car key grabbers are so common that it was even an old trick ten years ago, but why do they continue to be committed?

 

The hawker changed his profession and was caught stealing the Pandora car code grabber when he bought it online.

Car code grabber

 

In June last year, Sun, who was selling fruit in Nanjing, accidentally saw a way to make money on the Internet by "using a code grabber to open car doors and steal the property in the car." Sun, who had a criminal record, called Xiao, a fellow fruit seller, and the two planned to "change careers" and go to Beijing to work hard. The two searched online and each spent $800 to buy a car code grabber and brought it to Beijing.

 

On the evening of July 6 last year, when Sun and Xiao walked near Xibianmen, they found the owner of a car parking on the side of the road. Sun took out a code grabber to capture the car's lock password. After seeing the car owner entering the hotel, Sun used the decoder to remotely unlock the car. He was responsible for looking out and asked Xiao to quickly enter the car and steal it.

 

The two stole a Nikon SLR camera, a Nikon camera lens, a Fujifilm Polaroid camera and a women's shoulder bag from the car, and then fled.

 

An hour later, the car owner drove away. Because the car windows were intact and there were no signs of tampering in the car, the car owner realized that the bag was missing after driving for a while and called the police.

 

After receiving the report, the police retrieved video surveillance footage from the surrounding area to conduct a search, and found that the two suspects entered the crime scene on the No. 52 bus. After further investigation, the police identified the bus card used by the suspect. Based on the usage of the bus card, the police arrested Sun and Xiao.

 

Prosecutors decrypt, code grabbers are like car keys

 

Luo Qiang, a prosecutor from the Xicheng Procuratorate, had come across this code grabber during his handling of the case: a seemingly simple and rough little black box, "no bigger than a playing card, with a black and white display and a few buttons on the side."

 

 

 

"When the power is turned on, the code grabber will automatically scan the car's electronic lock signal within a 50-meter radius. If the matching vehicle's remote control signal is unlocked or locked, the car model will be displayed on the decoder screen, and then the button will be pressed. You can open the car door or lock the car door." After arriving at the case, the suspect Sun confessed that this code grabber is compatible with many new and old cars.

 

Luo Qiang said that in the past, some criminals used car jammers to interfere with the car's electronic locking function by pressing the jammer button when the car owner locked the car. The car owner mistakenly thought that the door was locked, but in fact the vehicle did not receive the signal from the remote key at all. After the car owner left, the criminal opened the door and stole the car. The technical content of this kind of car jammer is relatively low, and now many car owners have awareness of prevention. They can avoid future troubles by locking the car and pulling the door.

 

"But the code grabber is much more advanced. Its principle is equivalent to copying a car key. You can open it when you want, and then lock it after stealing it." Prosecutor Luo Qiang said that since the car is still locked and there are no signs of being pried, the owner is very worried. Hard to detect theft. When it was discovered, I couldn't even figure out where I lost the item, which made it very difficult to solve the case.

 

The reporter learned that in addition to controlling the central locking system, there are also criminals who use code grabbers to start cars and directly steal vehicles. Luo Qiang said that because high-end cars are more resistant to theft and the decoding technology is relatively complex, most criminals still choose to open the door to steal property.

 

Web page blocking makes it difficult to block private transactions

 

How would a fruit seller know how to make money from decoder theft? It's all because of the Internet. The convenience of the Internet is not only for good people, but also for evil people with evil intentions.

 

The reporter also searched online and found that the search engine indicated that some web pages were not searched due to "relevant laws, regulations and policies", but there were still some web pages that "missed the network". Some sellers post their contact information online in articles explaining the principles of decoders. Some sales company websites can be opened normally.

 

The reporter searched for an electronic technology company. The website sells various code grabbers, car key code grabbers, remote control jammers and unlocking tools. Among them, a set of 2024 latest code grabbers costing US$800-2,000, claims to be able to make more than a dozen models of Honda Accord, Mazda, Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, etc. The store swore that "this product can be turned on as long as it receives a signal."

Through another search engine, the reporter found more than 400,000 results of online stores selling code grabbers. Although some cannot be displayed after clicking, there are still quite a few company websites that can be displayed. And even if the web page is blocked, the seller's contact information can still be displayed in the introduction of the search results.

 

The reporter checked several sellers and found that code grabbers range from more than a thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. Features and coverage models also become more powerful as the price increases.

 

Although some web pages have a "solemn statement" on them, users are advised to exercise self-discipline and not to use the products for illegal purposes. However, in the sales process, the merchants do not have any additional requirements for the buyer's qualifications. As long as a deposit of 100 yuan is paid in advance, the goods can be shipped and the goods are paid on delivery.

 

What’s even more intriguing is that in some websites, in addition to the contact information of the seller, there are instructional videos of code grabbers on the webpage, and there are links to dozens of news reports about theft using code grabbers. The reports involve All the contents of the car decoder successfully opening the car lock are highlighted. In addition to advertising, it also hints at the true intentions of the sellers and buyers of these decoders.

 

Management vulnerabilities, code grabber theft has been prevalent for ten years

 

The reporter checked media reports and found that as early as 10 years ago, there were reports of theft using code grabbers. To this day, decoders are still very popular. Even a fruit seller can easily learn and buy a decoder to commit theft.

 

According to the reporter's inquiry, there are car owners in Beijing, Chongqing, Shenyang, Chengdu, Guangdong... all over the country who are trapped in the "decoder" conspiracy. American cars, German cars, and Japanese cars have all suffered accidents. In the past two years, the reporter alone has covered four or five cases of code grabber theft.

 

Since it is an open secret that decoders are used as tools for theft, why have they still been in good supply and sales for ten years? Could it be that the judicial authorities just ignore code grabbers and turn a blind eye?

 

"There are indeed loopholes here," a police officer who has been exposed to decoder theft cases told reporters: "But now we can only catch criminals who use code grabbers to steal. It is not illegal to simply sell code grabbers."

 

Prosecutor Luo Qiang told reporters that the car code grabber was originally a repair tool in the auto repair industry, used to detect car faults and circuits. Due to its practicality and legal uses, the country has not yet implemented special management of car code grabbers.

 

"But if the seller knows that the other party is going to use it to commit a crime but still condones it, or hints or even teaches the method of using a code grabber to steal, this is suspected of teaching criminal methods." Luo Qiang said.

 

The policeman was helpless about this: "Both the buyer and the seller are well aware of this kind of thing, but no one will admit to selling it knowing that the other party is going to use it to commit crimes. If there is no conclusive evidence to prove it, it is difficult to determine subjective intention."

 

The prosecutor suggested following the example of special management in the locksmithing industry

 

Prosecutors said that to avoid causing property damage, car owners should first be more vigilant, do not leave valuables such as mobile phones and wallets in the car, and install mechanical anti-theft devices. What's more important is to block the random buying and selling of code grabbers from the source. The public security network supervision department should focus on monitoring online transactions and effectively block suspicious information through technology. Websites that indulge in the dissemination of illegal information can even be held accountable.

 

"As an auto repair tool, car code grabbers cannot be banned from sale and use, but since they are professional tools, management should be strengthened." Luo Qiang believes that the locksmith industry can be followed and code grabbers that can drive locks can also be included in special management.

 

"Only sellers with formal purchasing channels and qualifications are allowed to sell, and only auto repair shops can purchase. When selling, the identity of the buyer must be verified, the transaction must be real-name, and the purchase information, buyer information, and code grabber model must be recorded in detail. If it is used for illegal purposes, it can be investigated." Luo Qiang said that if the transaction is not carried out in accordance with the regulations, the seller can be held accountable.