Car thieves in Delhi cracking barcodes on glass

NEW DELHI: The probe into the recent incidents of break-ins at city's ATMs has given police some insight into why latest technologies and security systems in cars are proving to be no deterrence for car lifters.
The gang behind the ATM thefts was apparently stealing cars with the latest security systems and push start feature with ease by tampering with the security codes, the cops have claimed.
They stole barcodes from the window glass and sent it to their handler based in Dubai who then cracked them open and even changed them altogether. The gang fed the new codes into the car's system using a programming machine, used for diagnostics, and zoomed away. The car was later used as a getaway vehicle during heists.
Five suspects - arrested for the twin ATM heists - have revealed details of how they broke into these security systems.
How thieves are using electronic jammers to nullify GPS in cars
According to DCP (north Delhi) Sagar Singh Kalsi, the accused first zeroed down on the car to be stolen and then took photographs of the bar code or the hologram pasted on the rear windscreen or the window glass of the car.
"This barcode contained a unique code of the installed security system. The accused shared this picture with their handler on WhatsApp for analysis and solution," DCP Kalsi said.
The handler then unlocked the security system of the car and even managed to change the unique security code. The suspects then opened the door of the car using their tools or broke the glass pane to gain access to the vehicle. They then used a programming machine to key in the new security code.
This allowed them to gain access to the vehicle. Thereafter, they blocked the GPS system installed in the car with their jammers and, as a result, no alert message was sent to the phone of the car owner. Once they isolated the car and got in, they decamped with the vehicle after starting it with the new security code generated by their handler.
The revelations have led the investigators to dig deeper into this modus operandi. They will rope in the anti-auto theft squad to study this further. The information will also be shared with other districts and units so that they can clamp down on the growing number of car thefts in Delhi.
"The technology and security systems in cars have advanced rapidly and they have become more secure or so it is claimed. However, the number of vehicle thefts in the city in the past three to four years has not decreased. Between 30 and 40 cars are getting stolen every day. The total number of stolen vehicles, including bikes, has shot up to over 105 daily," a senior officer said.
Vehicle thieves in the city are also increasingly using electronic jammers to stop the GPS-fitted cars from sending out signals. These jammers are being used by a lot of car lifters as most cars come fitted with such location-tracking devices.
The jammers procured by vehicle lifters come for around Rs 1 lakh while the programming machines cost around Rs 1.8 lakh each. A key-making machine costs around Rs 1 lakh, according to the cops.