[VIDÉO] Child’s play: 7 minutes to steal an SUV in Longueuil

An SUV stolen in less than seven minutes by unscrupulous petty thieves on Montreal’s South Beach was caught on surveillance cameras, proving to what extent it truly is child’s play.

“I wake up every morning wondering if my new car is still there. Is she going to steal too?” laments a resident of Longueuil.

His 2021 Ford Explorer was stolen in the middle of the night last month while it was parked in his driveway in front of his house. He requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Like him, most motorists are aware of the scourge and cost increases in insurance premiums, according to a CAA-Quebec survey released Tuesday.

“But 40% of people don’t have anti-theft measures in place,” insists spokesman David Marcil. Locking your doors isn’t enough. Despite all the media coverage surrounding the rise in vehicle thefts, there is still a lot of awareness to be created. Overall, it is expensive for everyone.

Shopping in the neighborhood

A South Beach resident’s surveillance cameras and his neighbor’s surveillance cameras caught the robbers in action. A series of images show the disturbing ease of stealing a Ford vehicle.

On the night of April 10 to April 11, the thieves first came to the wealthy family’s neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. to go shopping.

“It’s always very organized. They come and do some scouting before taking action. At the time of the theft, the vehicle is already pre-selected,” explains David Marcil, without commenting on this particular case.

The next day, the thieves returned shortly before 4 a.m., at a critical time when “everybody was asleep.”

At this time, a person walks towards the target vehicle with a small light in his hand. Thanks to a surveillance camera, we see him linger for a few minutes next to a Ford Explorer, its lights flashing several times.

After just 7 minutes, the thief started the SUV and fled with it. According to a witness, his accomplice, who was driving a Porsche Macan, also sped away from the neighborhood.

He saw nothing

By this time, the citizen of Langu was sound asleep: “We were at home when it happened, but we didn’t understand anything,” he laments.

The thieves returned a third time, the night after the theft. A neighbor spotted the shiny Porsche lurking in the area and immediately called 911.

It is not known whether the perpetrators were able to remotely control the victim’s keys, but since then, many of his neighbors have taken no chances and installed a key box (see info box) to avoid being robbed.

“I thought it was trivial, but now I store my keys in a safe. Until it happens to you, you never know the difference it can make,” says the man.

– with QMI Agency

Key Boxes: Such a simple anti-theft system

CAA-Quebec spokesperson David Marcil believes key boxes are a very simple and inexpensive tool that is worthy of preventing vehicle theft.

The new smart keys emit an electromagnetic field that is easily intercepted by thieves: “They are equipped with devices that allow them to capture the field and clone the key. Once that’s done, all they have to do is open the vehicle doors and drive away.

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PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY

By putting your keys in a box specially designed to cut waves, he says, you greatly reduce the risks.

“Thieves obviously use other means. But if they can’t pick up a signal to copy the signal from one key, they’ll often move on to another call,” said Mr. Marcel rates.

Many anti-theft products also offer protection: a guard that prevents access to the tracking system, steering wheel lock and OBD socket.