Read the full story on The Auto Wire
People are shocked to see security footage of car thief in New Jersey crawl around a fuel pump before climbing inside and driving off with it. However, we’re not because we’ve seen this sort of thing over and over for years. Yet it seems a lot of drivers aren’t aware that when you’re refueling, you could lose your car to a thief in just seconds.
A big change is sweeping the auto industry.
As you can see in the footage shared by NBC New York, a white BMW X3 pulls up in front of the car as it’s being refueled by an attendant (which is the law in New Jersey). The owner of the vehicle stands behind it, so the thief crawls along the ground and crouches at the front of the car.
Once the attendant finishes fueling and the vehicle owner walks in that direction, the thief crouches and walks quickly to the driver’s door, opens it, gets in, and starts the engine quickly. The owner runs over and opens the door, but suddenly backs far away after fearing the thief is armed.
Then the suspect drives off, his accomplice leaving as well. Likely the BMW is also stolen.
You might be wondering how this is even possible. Quite a few newer cars with push-button ignitions will start even if the key isn’t inside but is nearby. For those that don’t, there are enough owners who leave their keys inside the car while refueling, not to mention doing other things, sometimes leaving them in there overnight while the vehicle is parked in their driveway.
Sometimes all the thieves do is swipe a purse, dog, or something else valuable out of your car while you’re filling up. This is why we recommend taking the keys out of the vehicle with you and locking the doors. Sure, that sounds paranoid, but after seeing this sort of thing happen over and over, we know criminals are sadly taking advantage.
Image via NBC New York/YouTube
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