TECH NEWS – At first glance, the gadget looks like nothing more than a copy of a Nintendo Game Boy (you can find handhelds like this in droves these days), but it can also be used to steal cars.

We’re talking about a gang of British car thieves who could gain access to vehicles by disabling their security systems with this device, which costs twenty thousand GBP. They could then quietly and undetected start the car’s engine and take over the vehicle without any alarm. In other words, unless you had a security camera in your driveway, you are in trouble.

According to the BBC, Dylan Armer, Christoper Bowes and Thomas Poulson could steal five Mitsubishi Outlanders with this device. The trio from Yorkshire has already been sentenced at Leeds Crown Court, where they all pleaded guilty. The police caught them after stealing one of the “diamond people” cars in Scholes on 20 July. Then, during a search of the vehicle, they found what looked like a Game Boy in a hidden compartment, and a video on Poulson’s mobile phone showed how quickly and easily the device had enabled them to steal the cars. According to the authorities, a “mocking tone of voice” was also heard in the video.

These devices are sold by a Bulgarian tech company, SOS Autokeys. They can be used to capture data from cars and use the device as a remote control to access the car’s ignition (and in the video below, you can see how the device, which the company advertises as “the most advanced locksmith tool”, can open a car door). The company launched the technology in a Game Boy clone frame in June, and this case shows that if the hardware gets into the wrong hands, it can end badly.

Armer is serving two-and-a-half years in prison, while Bowes and Poulson got off with 22-month suspensions…

Source: WCCFTech