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Thieves cloning key fob signals to steal locked vehicles in Montgomery County, Pa.

Friday, March 14, 2025 10:33AM ET
ROYERSFORD, Pa. (WPVI) -- Police in Montgomery County are searching for thieves accused of using technology to clone the signals of key fobs to unlock and steal several vehicles in Royersford, Pennsylvania.

Action News has been covering similar cases since early last year in different areas of the suburbs from Gulph Mills, to Upper Merion, Conshohocken and now in Upper Providence Township.

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Police said three people seen walking in surveillance video might be responsible for stealing three Hondas during the overnight hours of Wednesday into Thursday morning.

They said it happened in the area of Roboda Blvd. and Vaughn Rd.



One resident said, "You'd think if you lock your doors, you're safe but apparently they're always one step ahead."

Police said the thieves are targeting modern cars with keyless entry and do not need the actual fob to pull it off.

They stand near someone's home and use a device that clones the signal of a fob that might be in someone's entryway, giving the thieves the ability to unlock and start the vehicle.

"It sounds more sophisticated, like planned out, like people are scoping the place out kind of thing. That's what it feels like," another resident said.

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Upper Providence police said there's been an increase in these types of thefts.



So far this year six vehicles, mostly Hondas, have been stolen in the township, compared to 11 thefts for all of last year, according to police.

"Unfortunately, today with the technology available to criminals, I don't know if there's a sure-fire way of ever stopping this. However, you can use some sort of device to lock the steering wheel," said Detective Sgt. Patrick Haines.

Haines said you can put your key fobs in a faraday bag or faraday box, which blocks the signal from being detected.

It's also suggested that you register for any tracking features that come with the car or even place an Apple Air tag in the vehicle to track it if it's stolen.
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