New report on most stolen vehicles in Canada shows the ‘epidemic’ is not slowing

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Do you drive a Honda CR-V, Lexus RX or a Ford F-150 pickup truck? Better look out the window and make sure it’s still there. More than any other vehicles on the road, those are being stolen and sent down the road to the Port of Montreal for shipment overseas, according to new insurance data.

“The proceeds of this illegal activity funds organized crime and terrorism, both domestically and internationally,” said Bryan Gast, vice-president of investigative services at Équité Association, a national non-profit that works with insurance companies to combat fraud.

It also costs “Canadians millions of dollars each year,” he added.

On Monday, Équité released its annual report on car thefts, showing the most stolen vehicles for 2021.

The meteoric rise in thefts that started during the pandemic shows no signs of easing. So far this year, more and more cars and trucks have disappeared from streets and driveways and malls than in the previous year.

In Toronto, it’s a “stolen car epidemic,” says one investigator: as of last week, 7,794 vehicles had been stolen in the city in 2022, an increase of 43.6 per cent over the same time last year, according to police data.

Équité says that many of the cars are shipped to Montreal, put in a container and sent overseas, where they are resold, often with the licence plates from Ontario, Quebec or other provinces still bolted on. The vehicles sell for up to three times their original cost.

Équité tracks theft based on insurance claims and releases an annual report for the whole country. Here are the top 10 stolen vehicles Canada-wide for 2021:

Honda CR-V (4,117)

Lexus RX Series (2,202)

Ford F-150 Series (1,182)

Honda Civic (768)

Toyota Highlander (748)

Ram 1500 Series (509)

Chevrolet/GMC Silverado/Sierra 1500 (410)

Honda Accord (372)

Jeep Grand Cherokee (346)

Toyota RAV4 (334)

The biggest increase was with the high-end Lexus RX Series, based on a comparison of the rate of vehicles stolen compared to the number insured and on the road. In 2021, 6.4 per cent (2,202) of the 34,560 Lexus RX on the road were stolen.

By comparison, the top most stolen vehicle was the Honda CR-V, where 1.7 per cent (4,117 of the 236,555 on the road) fell prey to thieves.

Both Honda and Toyota have told the Star they continue to work on the problem of theft — but their vehicles keep getting pinched. The reason Honda and Toyota products are in such demand overseas is that they are considered “all world vehicles,” meaning that servicing for them is available in most countries.

Among the vehicles with the lowest number of thefts (for vehicles with a high number of cars and SUVs on the road) were Volvos, Infiniti and Tesla. Only two Teslas were stolen in 2021. Industry sources say some manufacturers, like Tesla, have numerous anti-theft devices in their vehicles.

While some jurisdictions have had success — particularly Montreal where 1,000 cars were recovered in the past year — police sources say car thieves are always one step ahead of the authorities, with new techniques being developed all the time.

The Star’s ongoing investigation has received hundreds of calls and emails from the public. Many vehicle owners have also sent home security videos, showing the simplicity of the theft.

Typically, cameras pick up an unknown car, or even someone on a bicycle, buzzing by the home in the early morning hours. This is the “scout,” police say, looking for a car to steal or checking to see if a car previously “tagged” using a GPS locator is in the driveway. (Thieves have placed Apple Air tags on cars in malls to make it easy to find them overnight.) Scouts are paid $100 or less per vehicle, the Star’s investigation found.

Usually between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., the actual thief (the “runners”) will show up, dropped off by another thief in a car.

Different approaches are used for different vehicles. Sometimes the thief scans the VIN number visible in the bottom left of the windshield, leaves, then returns after accessing a database that helps them create a new key fob. Or the thief uses a “relay attack” to acquire the signal from a key fob inside a home, then opens the door lock.

Once inside the vehicle, the thief attaches a diagnostic device similar to that used by mechanics to the “port” under the dashboard, and programs a new key fob that will start the car.

Some thieves do even more advanced planning. First, they use a vise grip tool to break the door handle of a Ford F-150 pickup, which gets them inside the vehicle. Then they attach the diagnostic tool and create a new fob. Then they leave.

The truck owner doesn’t know it, but there are now three fobs that will start the pickup, instead of the factory pre-set two. The owner takes the truck to a Ford dealership to get it repaired — at their expense. Once the repaired truck is back in the owner’s driveway, the thief returns, and using the third fob, drives it away.

One astute Ford mechanic discovered this when he was doing a routine check of a customer’s vehicle and discovered three fobs programmed to the on-board computer. Now that mechanic routinely checks all trucks he sees just in case.

The Star has published a list of tips to help vehicle owners.

You are viewing this post: New report on most stolen vehicles in Canada shows the ‘epidemic’ is not slowing. Information curated and compiled by Kayaknv.com along with other related topics.

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