May 08, 2015 05:47 PM EDT
Electronic Thieves Force Car Owners to Put Keys in Freezers

Some people have a specific spot they store their car keys when they get home from a long day. Others just toss their keys anywhere only to be left searching for them the following morning.

Now, some car owners are resorting to freezing their keys to prevent their cars from being stolen.

Huh?

Thieves across the globe have started using a little black box called a power amplifier to unlock cars with hands-free key fobs, according to USA Today. The device works by taking the signal from a car and projecting it as far as 100 meters, so your vehicle can find your key fob.

The device is inexpensive too, most of them go for less than $20 online, which is nothing to car thieves, especially if it means gaining access to a sweet ride.

The boxes, or similar devices, are helping thieves everywhere, from Canada to Los Angeles, where a writer for The New York Times reported three separate break-ins.

"What's odd is that there have been no signs of forced entry," writer Nick Bilton said in his article. "There are no pools of broken glass on the pavement and no scratches on the doors from jimmied locks."

So what should car owners do to prevent these break-ins?

"Put your keys in the freezer, which acts as a Faraday Cage, and won't allow a signal to get in or out," said Boris Danev, a founder of 3db Technologies, to the New York Times. 

There are some key fobs that have to be kept at room temperature to avoid battery damage so make sure to contact your local dealer before doing anything, USA Today reported. If they tell you not to put your key fob in the freezer, wrapping your keys in aluminum foil should still do the trick as well.

Good luck out there car owners, hope you have a good freezer.

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