Make the life of car thieves more difficult with these tips

Many new cars today no longer have a traditional key, but a keyless card or badge that opens the car as soon as the driver approaches. The danger lies in the fact that car thieves can easily open a car as soon as the card is somewhere nearby by picking up and extending the radio signal.

For safety, car manufacturers rely on a motion sensor in the key. If the key remains in the same place for a while, the radio signal is switched off and the car can no longer be stolen. Yet thieves sometimes manage to manipulate the signal and drive away with your car.

Do you have a car with a keyless key? Then you can do this to prevent car theft:

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  Some keyless keys have a button that allows you to manually turn off the key. Do this when you don't need your key, for example at night.

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  Always check that your doors are closed properly. Note the sound of the doors closing.

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  Put your key in a steel candy or biscuit tin or even in a special key cover that blocks the key. To be on the safe side, it is best to keep your smart key as far away from your car as possible.

General anti-theft tips

Of course you still have to watch out for car thieves with a less modern car. Prevention is often better than cure, which is why we give you these tips to make it more difficult for car thieves.

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  Use a classic steering wheel lock or a lock for the handbrake or accelerator pedal. If thieves see that your car is equipped with this, they usually don't even start it.

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  Have an extra anti-theft alarm installed on your car. They exist in different price ranges.

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  Place a lamp or camera with a motion detector on your driveway or garage. Cameras and light deter thieves. In addition, you can use your camera images to contact the police in case of theft.

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  Install a track and trace system in your car. This way you can see where the thieves are driving your car in case of theft.

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  Do you have a garage? Be sure to park your car there. Thieves are less likely to venture into this. Also when you go to the city, it is better to park your car in a guarded, covered garage than along the street.

With these tips you can leave your car with (more) peace of mind.