Car thieves use laptop in 100 heists, police say
Police say thieves turning to high-tech to drive off with cars
Houston police say the arrests of two suspects in the theft of more than 100 vehicles show how thieves are turning to newer technology to run their operation.
Houston police say the recent arrests of two suspects believed responsible for the theft of more than 100 vehicles show how thieves are turning to newer technology, leaving behind the days of hot-wiring cars and driving off.
Police said Thursday that Michael Arce, 24, and Jesse Zelaya, 22, were arrested last weekend after officers caught them stealing a Jeep Grand Cherokee from the Jackson Hill area and then driving it to southwest Houston.
Authorities said at a news conference Thursday that they believe the men used a laptop computer to steal vehicles around the Houston area over several months. Many of the stolen cars and trucks were Dodge products.
“They may not be the only ones that are doing this,” Houston police officer Jim Woods said Thursday. “But right now, we feel with those arrests, we should be able to curb the amount of thefts that have been occurring.”
Police investigators used leads from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to
identify the two suspects. They then went to an area where they believed the men had been stealing vehicles on the night of July 29 and caught them stealing the Jeep, police said.
Arce is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, felony possession of a weapon and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, jail records show. Zelaya is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. Both remained in the Harris County jail Thursday night.
“Zelaya and Arce are believed to have stolen Jeep Wranglers, Cherokees and Dodge pickup trucks and then transported them across the U.S. Mexico border, usually in the overnight hours before vehicle owners were aware they had been stolen,” police said in a news release.
The investigation began a few months ago, when a homeowner showed police surveillance video of someone stealing a Jeep Wrangler from the driveway of a residence near downtown. The video shows someone getting inside the car, using a laptop, and then backing the car out of the driveway.
Susceptible to hacking
Berj Alexanian, a spokesman with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said officials know how the Jeep Wrangler was stolen.
According to Alexanian, the thief broke into the vehicle and used a laptop to enter its VIN number in order to access the Chrysler database.
Dealerships, repair facilities and locksmiths are usually the only ones allowed access to the database, which provides the code for key fob access. Once the thief enters the VIN number, he can re-program the car’s computer so it will accept a generic key fob. The car will then start, and the thief is able to drive off.
The Wrangler was stolen in just a few minutes, according to police, who are still investigating how thieves are using laptops to break into other car models.
Woods said that as cars become more technologically advanced, they are increasingly susceptible to hacking by car thieves.
“As you get more and more computers installed in vehicles — if somebody has that knowledge and that ability, they can turn around and figure out a way to manipulate the system,” he said.
Woods said that vehicles have a common software that’s available to a technician or a dealership. “If someone has turned around and pirated that software and uses that software for other illegal purposes, that’s something we can’t control,” Woods said.
‘Very profitable market’
For the last few years, the National Crime Insurance Bureau has been looking into claims that vehicles could be stolen with electronic devices, according to Roger Morris, the bureau’s vice president.
“Somebody’s going to figure out a way around technology,” Morris said. “Just like they do with hacking your computer or hacking your credit cards. Somebody’s always out there trying to do that.”
Police said they believe others are helping to drive the stolen cars from Houston into Mexico. The homeland security department in Harlingen has identified almost 100 vehicles from Houston that have been transported across the Mexican border. Morris said car thieves like to steal newer-model vehicles because they are valuable in other countries.
“They don’t sell those kind of cars that are made for American buyers in a lot of those countries,” Morris said. “They’ll catch two or three times as much money in the black market in another country as they’re paying for them here. If they can steal them, get them out of the country, and have a buyer over there, that’s a very profitable market for them.”
Police say cars are being stolen in Midtown, Garden Oaks, Jackson Hill and the Memorial area.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles released a statement saying that it takes “the safety and security of its customers seriously and incorporates security features in its vehicles that help to reduce the risk of unauthorized and unlawful access to vehicle systems and wireless communications.”
“FCA US has been cooperating with Houston Police Department since they first started the investigation. This investigation is ongoing and as such, the Company has no further comment,” the statement said.
Police are advising car owners to make sure they lock their cars or park in a garage if they have one. But Woods, with HPD, acknowledged that there’s only so much car owners can do.
“No matter what you do, if somebody has the ability and the knowledge to steal your car, they’re going to be able to take it,” Woods said.