As Colorado’s auto theft rate soars, groups try to lure victims with ‘ethical hacking’ techniques – CBS Denver

(CBS4) – Colorado is fast becoming one of the worst states in the nation for auto theft. According to the latest statistics from the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority, car thefts have increased by 88% since 2017.

It’s a crime that’s more than an inconvenience.

“It completely changed my life,” DeAnna Jiron said, “it’s just the stress, I couldn’t get to work and I had to rely on everyone.”

Jiron dropped her keys while shopping at a Walmart, and when she got to the parking lot and realized they were missing, her car was stolen.

“Went outside and started banging the alarms and they found out which car it was,” she said.

She posted the information on the Colorado Stolen Cars Facebook page. With more than 20,000 members, they have helped recover dozens of vehicles. Shortly after her post, she received multiple messages directing her to contact an Instagram account that offers help recovering stolen vehicles and uses “ethical hacking” techniques to tell victims that they have lost GPS systems and other electronics can tap into.

“I thought about it for a minute, really, but it just didn’t sound right. But desperate for a second, I mean, what can you do?” she said.

Some have paid for the service and received nothing in return.

“This is the ingenuity of thieves. They figure out how to either break into or start vehicles or use whatever they have at their disposal to get those vehicles,” said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Josh Lewis.

(Image credit: Denver Police)

Lewis says nearly 40,000 vehicles were stolen in Colorado in 2021 alone.

“We’d like to be able to say that we know exactly why or what’s going on, what the exact implications are that make people think this is acceptable, or if it’s easier. We just don’t know and that’s what we’re looking at,” Lewis said.

RELATED: Study says Colorado is one of the worst states to drive to

While he says the recovery rate is high, vehicles are often used for other crimes or found wrecked by thieves.

That was the case with Jiro, who is now urging everyone to protect themselves.

“Just be proactive. Just stay ahead of things because they take anything out here and my car was pretty much broken when they took it. It wasn’t in the best shape and they took it anyway,” she said.

CBS4 reached out to the various companies referred to victims for help tracing their stolen vehicles. Most had been deactivated online and one that wasn’t appeared to be shut down after they were asked for comment.

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/03/03/colorado-car-theft-rate-rising-rapidly-groups-using-ethical-hacking-techniques-lure-victims/ As Colorado’s auto theft rate soars, groups try to lure victims with ‘ethical hacking’ techniques – CBS Denver

Huynh Nguyen

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