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News items from Europe and the UK
A team of ‘white hat’ hackers has uncovered 14 software and hardware vulnerabilities in a range of BMWs after carrying out what BMW says is the “most comprehensive and complex testing ever conducted” by a third-party company. The hackers found a range of vulnerabilities in the BMW i3 and X1, as well as the previous-generation 5 Series and 7 Series. Eight of the flaws related to the cars’ infotainment systems, four…
Online shopping giant eBay have been accused of offering a 'sat nav service for thieves' by showing the precise location of collection-only valuables. Sellers of cars and motorbikes have discovered to their horror that potential buyers can zoom in to within a few metres of where the item is for sale. But the problem, caused by phone app versions of eBay, means the location of almost any heavy and valuable item for collection-only is…
In the early morning hours of 4th May 2018 an ATM was raided in a small town in the vicinity of Wiesbaden, the capital of the German federal state of Hesse. The suspects used flammable gas to blow up the ATM machine and get access to the cash inside. When escaping the crime scene by car, the two perpetrators, Dutch nationals aged 23 and 28, caused a traffic accident on the motorway. In course of the accident the suspects’ car was damaged…
The headlines in the press are full of stories of cars, especially high-end premium cars, being stolen using electronic relay technology to silently steal a car without a key. But now Thatcham Research has announced updates to the New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA) programme for 2019, against which all new cars are assessed to acquire an insurance group rating, in an effort to cut car thefts by thieves grabbing electronic gizmos online…
Gadgets that can be used to steal vehicles in a matter of seconds are being sold online for as little as £100. Internet sites, Amazon and eBay are selling the hacking devices which allow a user to reprogramme a blank key fob so it can start a car's ignition. Other items such as lock picks are also available to buy online. The web retailers have come under attack from a crime commissioner who accused them of being "irresponsible" and…
As part of Operation ROTAMM, the Guardia Civil dismantled a criminal group operating from Spain that acquired used tyres and sold them illegally in Africa, America and Europe. The operation involved 17 countries from the 3 continents. It is estimated that the criminal organisation could have obtained net profits amounting to nearly EUR 2…
A gang who 'hacked' their way into top-of-the-range BMWs before stealing them have been jailed for nearly eight years. Four men used a weakness in the cars' computers to steal 12 vehicles from around Lancashire before they were finally stopped in 2016. They would smash their way into the cars, including expensive 'M Performance' models worth more than £50,000, before using electronic equipment to start the…
Only hours after commencing theft tracking tests, Zero’s bikes are stolen, and then recovered just hours later Motorcycle theft is an increasingly rampant issuing plaguing major cities across the UK, and though the trend isn’t as acute on this side of the pond, motorcycle theft is nonetheless on the rise in the US too. As the unfortunate trend in crime grew, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London—a city hit…
Every year, only about two-thirds of the 10 million end-of-life cars in Europe are recorded as having been deregistered and scrapped. The rest disappear, according to a European Commission report published this…
As well as billboard adverts, the campaign will run on petrol pump screens, buses and online. The aim is to stop the theft of scooters and reduce their use in further crimes such as snatches, burglaries and transporting drugs and weapons. In 2017, more than 14,000 scooters were stolen and many were used to commit 23,500 further crimes. Many of these machines were then either dumped or broken to be sold for their spare parts. Metropolitan…