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Stolen Jeeps

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Wow 150 jeeps and pretty bad system on chryslers side, when I  worked for bmw the keys were all made in germany and the registration and license had to match and be faxed to them inorder for it to be made and shipped. 

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I think you are supposed to produce registration and ID when getting key made. I have a feeling they had a connection somewhere since they were able to get two different codes to sync the vehicle.

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It's been a decade since I worried about such things, so I reviewed some sections of the CA Veh Code. I could not find anything preventing anyone from covering their VIN. I also never heard of a violation of this type while working.

Usually, I saw VIN's covered on "cold plated" stolen vehicles, where the license plates mounted on the stolen vehicle were from another similar vehicle. A lot of people don't notice their plates - especially if it's just one - missing. This gives thieves a few more days in your vehicle if it stays stateside. Covering the VIN eliminates verifying the status of the vehicle.

If I had a Jeep, I'd toss a piece of paper or whatever over it and not worry about it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/BOLT-7026128-Jeep-Wrangler-Hood/dp/B00VGX2PTE

^^since the media piece mentioned they lift the hood to snip alarm wires.

 

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I have a little insight here.

The bad guys ended up being connected with a dealer in Cabo. The thieves would go shopping for Jeeps, snapping a photo of the VIN then "ordering" a set of keys from the dealer. Efficient process, eh?

One of my friends locally had his Rubicon swiped in front of his shop. Chased the guy to Otay (using iPhone's FindMyPhone feature). He got a lot of his belongings back but the Jeep had gone south via that POE.

And the investigation continues.  Bottom line: If they want it, they'll get it.  You can measures to make it more difficult (parking inside, kill switch, etc.) and that's a good idea. 

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On 6/3/2017 at 10:16 AM, TrophyHunter said:

It's been a decade since I worried about such things, so I reviewed some sections of the CA Veh Code. I could not find anything preventing anyone from covering their VIN. I also never heard of a violation of this type while working.

Usually, I saw VIN's covered on "cold plated" stolen vehicles, where the license plates mounted on the stolen vehicle were from another similar vehicle. A lot of people don't notice their plates - especially if it's just one - missing. This gives thieves a few more days in your vehicle if it stays stateside. Covering the VIN eliminates verifying the status of the vehicle.

If I had a Jeep, I'd toss a piece of paper or whatever over it and not worry about it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/BOLT-7026128-Jeep-Wrangler-Hood/dp/B00VGX2PTE

^^since the media piece mentioned they lift the hood to snip alarm wires.

 

Funny, I ordered this after reading the article: https://www.amazon.com/Tuffy-292-01-Jeep-Wrangler-Hood/dp/B007I6Z05Y

Thanks for looking into it.

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Appreciate the topic. My son has a Rubicon, so I forwarded the article and lock suggestion to him, along with covering the VIN.  Thx.

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Chances are the person boosting the vehicles is familiar with the no original key recoding process and has the dealer tool or a reasonable clone of one. Each key from what I remember from my Jeep Commander has its own individual code much like a garage door remote.  The original key has to be present to program without the tool and with the tool the one that the thief used could be programmed to be the original.  But then again that was in 08', just about a decade old information, I'm sure they've updated the security protocols since then...Right?

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