That remote-control key fob you use to lock and unlock your car isn’t the only one like it in the world, according to the American Automobile Association.
And that might shed a little light on why some motorists are returning to vehicles they are sure they locked only to find them unlocked and ransacked.
According to AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Jenny Robinson, “There is a limited number of transmit codes that can be used for remote unlock/security key fobs. There are duplicates of key transmit codes.”
As previously reported in the Times, several car burglary victims insisted they locked their cars, only to find someone had gotten into their vehicles. This mystery keyless entry led to speculation that someone has developed a “skeleton key fob” that bypasses electronic locks and car alarms. Such devices are sold on the Internet.
Police said they believe the owners of the burglarized cars forgot to lock their vehicles. Ryan, a Northeast resident, isn’t sure.
“My car was broken into the night of Aug. 23,” he told the Northeast Times. He said he found no damage to his car, but every storage compartment was open and the car was ransacked.
Charles, another Northeast vehicle burglary victim, said he lost his camera bag with $2,000 in equipment when someone gained entry in his car in a lot on the 9700 block of Roosevelt Boulevard. He is sure his car was locked.
Another resident said he knows his car was locked but saw two men in it when he looked out his window. He called police, who caught the burglars. There was no damage to his car, he said. He has no idea how the men unlocked it. ••
