![]() ![]() Mejia said Kia and Hyundai thefts were already making up an increasing share of vehicles stolen in 20. “Even prior to TikTok, the scam - the method was already out there.” Juvey Mejia of LAPD, who works with a countywide taskforce on vehicle thefts. “The TikTok thing kind of pushed it to the next level,” said Sgt. USB cords, now ubiquitous and often left inside cars by drivers who want to charge their phones, give thieves an easy hotwiring device. ![]() But in Kia and Hyundai vehicles, thieves have also found they can easily pop off the case around the steering wheel column and key ignition. Many older vehicles are ripe for being stolen because they lack these immobilizers. Models of those years were built without engine immobilizers - that is, electronic security devices that only allow the car to start when they detect the transponder inside the driver’s key fob. Kia and Hyundai vehicles between the years of 20 are being targeted because a defect is allowing them to be easily hotwired. are up more than 23% since 2020, according to LAPD’s most recent numbers. this year: Car thefts in the city are up about 15%, or 2,279 more cars.Ĭar thefts in L.A. That’s almost three quarters of the entire increase in stolen cars of any make and model in L.A. In just 2022, at least 1,634 more Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been stolen so far this year, an 85% increase over the year before of thefts of just those types of cars. ![]() Now local police think the trend has made its way to Los Angeles, too.Ĭhief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department told police commissioners on Tuesday that thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in the city have made up a significant chunk of the increase in stolen cars over the last two years. Inevitably, those stunts have led to crashes and even deaths. Or teens on top of cars, laying on their hoods or standing up through sunroofs, driving by at top speed. Innumerable videos posted to TikTok show the Kia Boys participating in wild stunts around Milwaukee: Teens packed into cars ripping through neighborhoods and screeching their tires. He says the thefts are simply for social media glory. Rather, they abandon them wherever they can, usually within a day. The boys tell their interviewer they don’t fence most of the cars they steal. The interview, posted to Youtube in May 2022, shows two teenaged members of the “Kia Boys,” a loose confederation of young car thieves in Milwaukee who police say have stolen hundreds of Kia and Hyundai vehicles over the last two years. The teenager in Milwaukee calmly explains to his nervous interviewer how he’s stolen possibly hundreds of cars with nothing more than a screwdriver and a USB cord.Īll it took was a little ingenuity of kids with too much time on their hands. ![]()
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