Caught on camera: How two men stole a Mercedes in less than a minute - without even needing its keys
Grainy surveillance footage released to the public by Britain's
West Midlands Police shows the extraordinary theft of a Mercedes. A shocking hack allowed two men to fool the Mercedes into thinking they had keys to the car when, in fact, they didn't. The incident is thought to be the first "relay crime" to be caught on camera, in which thieves steal vehicles without needing the keys.
The black-and-white CCTV footage shows two men in masks pull up outside the victim's house. The Mercedes is parked outside in the victim's driveway.
One of the thieves stations himself by the car door and the other right outside the house, by a door or garage. Both men are holding relay boxes. According to
police, the devices are capable of receiving signals through walls, doors and windows, but not metal.
The suspect near the house receives a signal from the car key inside the victim's home. The signal is then relayed to the box near the car's door.
And within seconds, the car's system is fooled into thinking the key was used to open the door when it was nowhere near the vehicle. Without a hitch, the thieves are able to unlock the Mercedes and drive off in it.
The theft took place in less than 60 seconds.
Though the theft occurred in late September, the CCTV footage was only released on November 26. The Mercedes has not yet been recovered.Click for more
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