Member Information
Get Connected
Reading/Career


Find Private Detectives

Call Toll-Free 1-877-TOP-PICK or (1-877-867-7425)

Home Login Register Search by Zip US Directory Contact Members Testimonials

Post articles View all articles Print article

Motor vehicle theft


Motor vehicle theft, sometimes referred to as grand theft auto by the media and police departments in the US


Motor vehicle theft, sometimes referred to as grand theft auto by the media and police departments in the US, is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle, including an automobile, truck, bus, coach, motorcycle, snowmobile, trailer or any other motorized vehicle. Nationwide in the US in 2005, there were an estimated 1.2 million motor vehicle thefts, or approximately 416.7 motor vehicles stolen for every 100,000 inhabitants. [1] Property losses due to motor vehicle theft in 2005 were estimated at $7.6 billion.

Methods

Some methods used by criminals to steal motor vehicles include:

  • Theft of an unattended vehicle without key(s): The removal of a parked vehicle either by breaking and entry, followed by hotwiring or other tampering methods to start the vehicle, or else towing.
  • Theft with access to keys: Known in some places as "Taken Without Owner's Consent (TWOC)". The unauthorized use of a vehicle in which the owner has allowed the driver to have possession of or easy access to the keys. Often, this is the adolescent or grown child or employee of the vehicle's owner, who, at other times, may be authorized to use the vehicle. May be treated differently, depending on the jurisdiction's laws, and in some cases, the owner may choose not to press charges.
  • Opportunistic theft: The removal of a vehicle that the owner or operator has left unattended with the keys visibly present, sometimes idling
  • Carjacking: Refers to the taking of a vehicle by force or threat of force from its owner or operator. In most places, this is the most serious form of theft, since assault also occurs. In some carjackings, the operators and passengers are forced from the vehicle while the thief drives it away him/herself, while in other incidents, the operator and/or passenger(s) are forced to remain in the vehicle as hostages. Some less common carjackings result in the operator being forced to drive the assailant in accordance with the assailant's demands. This method is most often used when the assailant does not know how to operate the vehicle of choice (e.g. a helicopter or airliner). In the United States, carjacking is a federal offense, subject to 15 years imprisonment.
  • Fraudulent theft: Illegal acquisition of a vehicle from a seller through fraudulent transfer of funds that the seller will ultimately not receive (such as by identity theft or the use of a counterfeit cashier's check). Many vehicles stolen in this manner are resold quickly thereafter.

Common Tools Used

  • Slide Hammer Puller to break into the door locks and the cylinder lock.
  • Multimeters or a test light to find the source of the battery
  • Spare wires and/or a screwdriver to connect the battery source to the ignition and starter wires
  • A generic rod and hook toolkit to slip between your car window and car frame and to open the lock behind the window. A common one is called the "Slim Jim".
  • Many keyless ignition/lock cars have weakor no cryptographic protection of the unlock signal. Proof-of-concept "thefts" of top-of-the-line luxury cars have been demonstrated by academic researchers using commercially available tools such as RFID microreaders, but is unknown whether the attack has been used for actual theft.

Vehicles most frequently stolen

The makes and models of vehicles most frequently stolen vary by several factors, including region and ease of theft.

In recent years in the United States, some models often on lists of most frequently stolen vehicles include Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Jeep Cherokee, and Cadillac Escalade. In Thailand, the most frequently stolen vehicles are Toyota and Nissan cars, Isuzu pickup trucks, Honda cars, and Honda motorcycles (2007 data).

In Malaysia, Selangor had the distinction of having the highest number of motor vehicle thefts, after Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Proton models are the most frequently stolen vehicles in the country, with the Wiras being the highest, ahead of the Waja and the Perdana

All text of this article available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details).

  
Detectives   Show All articles
Search by Zip
  Enter Zip  search
Contact Detectives near you.
Firstname *
Lastname *
Email *
Phone *
Alt. Phone
Zip *
Brief reason to contact *
Los Angeles DetectiveMIAMI-DADE DetectiveCook Detective
SAINT LOUIS DetectiveHarris DetectiveMaricopa Detective
Orange DetectiveSan Diego DetectivePRINCE GEORGES Detective
Kings DetectiveDade DetectiveQueens Detective
Dallas DetectiveWayne DetectiveKing Detective
San Bernardino DetectiveSanta Clara DetectiveDEKALB Detective
Broward DetectiveDU PAGE DetectiveRiverside Detective
New York DetectivePhiladelphia DetectiveMiddlesex Detective
Tarrant DetectiveAlameda DetectiveSuffolk Detective
Cuyahoga DetectiveBexar DetectiveClark Detective
 
More information...
Fraud
In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual....
Missing person
A missing person is a person who has disappeared for no known reason....
Organization
The detective branch in most larger police agencies is organized into several squads or departments....
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person....

Contact Us | Site Map | RSS Feeds | Articles | Jobs | Links | All Members | Popular Searches | Popular Questions