Warning to keyless car owners after brazen gangs steal luxury motors with Game Boy-style gadget
A FURIOUS driver is threatening to sue Hyundai after his £47,000 keyless car was stolen using a gadget disguised as a Nintendo Game Boy.
CCTV showed Adam Metselaar’s electric Ioniq 5 being driven off after being hacked in 31 seconds.
The victim had kept both sets of keys in a protective box in his house to stop cloning.
But this could not guard against the hi-tech “emulator” hidden inside the casing of a handset famed for running Mario Brothers games.
Mr Metselaar, of Stanmore, North West London, said: “The firm’s customer services admitted around 26 had been stolen in London recently.
“The company needs to recall all affected cars and fit a system that protects them. I’m willing to go to court to make them admit responsibility.”
The grey motor was swiped by three thieves in the early hours.
It was traced using an Apple AirTag that Mr Metselaar had placed inside and found four miles away in Harrow with £10,000 worth of damage.
The use of these emulators appears to have started in South Korea, where Hyundai is based.
It spread to the US where thefts of cars made by Hyundai and fellow Korean firm Kia soared.
Mr Metselaar said: “Now the same thing is happening here.”
Figures show that in the UK the most stolen electric vehicle is the Kia Niro, followed by the Hyundai Ioniq.
Last night Hyundai said it was updating its Bluelink software, which allows drivers to remotely lock and unlock their car from a smartphone app.
It also plans extra anti-theft features. It added: “All Hyundai vehicles sold in the UK are fitted with immobilisers as standard.
“We have been working closely with law enforcement to understand more about the circumstances and the devices used. This is an industry-wide issue”.