Truck thief couldn't dodge Calgary police

CALGARY (CBC) - A man with an apparent affinity for Dodge vehicles has been charged with 38 counts of theft after more than 100 vehicles were stolen over the past 2.5 months.
Calgary Police Staff Sgt. Derek Curtis says they noticed a dramatic rise in the number of Dodge trucks and vans stolen this year and the auto theft unit set up "Operation Ram" to solve the case.

Curtis says if there are typically 13 vehicles stolen a day in the city, this man was allegedly responsible for five of them.

"That's a substantial number," he said.

Curtis says most of the trucks and vans were later recovered, with the equipment and property inside removed.

A 41-year-old man faces 38 counts of theft, as well as one charge of both dangerous driving and hit and run.



... Kinda makes you wonder how good the anti-theft systems are huh?!

 

I bet he has one of the master keys people are ordering on the web. Last week my local TV station did a story. They ordered Dodge, Chevy, Ford, along with some foreign makes from the same site at the same time, and received them all in the same envelope. No one ever asked if they were qualified or if they were locksmiths. The TV crew was able to open 3 out of 4 vehicles in a shopping center parking lot after gaining permission from the vehicle owners. The cars they could not unlock, they speculated, required a different master key than the one they specified when they ordered. I interpret this to mean they could have unlocked 100% of the cars in that parking lot with the proper master keys offered by this one web site and no one is gonna ask for proof or for an ID. I'm anxious to hear how he did it so please keep us posted.
Nat

 

Hmmmm, what was that website?

 

bulabula, they were very careful to keep the URL hidden but showed us the bottom parts of the page and made a statement a search using the terms "master key" and you could find it.
Nat

 

try this Master Keys
Nat

 

Unbelievable!! Maybe I should just wait for the All-in-One keyfob too?????

Makes you wonder just how vulnerable we are? I guess if someone really wants your truck or car, it isn't hard to steal it - credit cards and paypal both welcome. They take cash too!

 

Oh yea, I forgot techhy kids already have that too. They turn a squelch **** up on a modified transmitter and in they go. Often sets off the panic alarms too I'm told.
Nat

 

If they want my truck, they can have my truck. Everything on it is covered by insurance so what do I care.

 

That's why I didn't want the factory alarm, and opted for an aftermarket.

Master key might get you in, but you won't be able to start it, and I won't have a broken window to deal with.


phox

 

My thoughts exactly phox. An alarm with a fuel-cutoff perhaps?
Nat

 

Locks only keep honest people out. The factory systems are a breeze to bypass for the professional thief. A cutoff switch that only YOU know where it is/how it is wired will keep your vehicle in your possession.

 

My mothers Stratus was stolen a few years ago by a gang of kids targeting Dodge vehicles.

 

Sweeper 54 wrote

With a master key, or by breaking the steering lock, or heaven forbid, did she leave the key where a thief could find it?

Spots wrote

Would this be a manual switch or an RF switch? Homemade or OEM? How about a recommendation, Paul?
Nat

 

does this master key open the door only or does it work in the ignition too??
My '98 chev astro van key opens 5 dodge ram vans at work
someone has a key for my astro van as he keeps rummaging through it

 

The TV man was able to start some of them, he said, although it didn't show him do so. Is that your question? However he didn't make an effort to move any, at least while the camera was running.
I was wondering if ignitions that require a diode on the key would turn the engine over at all, or allow them to start for 5 seconds and then kill the engine. That was never addressed in the story.
Nat