Car thieves target locksmiths for key fobs

CHICAGO (CBS) —  It’s the latest people for car thieves. It’s not a Chevy oregon Jeep. It’s a device. It doesn’t look similar much, but for crooks, it’s the cardinal to rapidly getting down the instrumentality of arsenic galore cars arsenic they want.

As CBS 2’s Suzanne Le Mignot reported, constabulary person present issued a warning.

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Robbers are targeting locksmiths and their fob programmers. Detectives issued an alert astir 2 incidents and different 1 that happened conscionable 5 days ago.

“He was scared. He was afraid, not knowing if you’re going to unrecorded successful a concern similar that.”

Michael Payton talked astir however a mobile locksmith was feeling aft helium was held astatine gunpoint adjacent 38th and Wabash 5 days ago. Payton said the locksmith told him thing strange.

“Someone called and said their keys were locked wrong the car and erstwhile helium got there, they pulled retired weapons and took immoderate property, instrumentality helium had successful the vehicle,” Payton said.

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The locksmith was robbed astatine gunpoint successful wide daylight. The robbery is akin to 2 others involving mobile locksmiths. Police said successful each case, the victims were responding to requests to reprogram conveyance keys.

When they arrived, they were surrounded by 2 to 4 equipped men, past their conveyance reprogramming devices and cardinal fobs were taken.

Area 2 detectives enactment retired an alert astir 2 different incidents successful Washington Heights and Auburn Gresham connected Oct. 4 and Oct. 25. Both happened during the day.

An worker astatine Curtis Key & Lock Service successful Grand Crossing showed however the cardinal programmer works.  It’s not hard to marque a caller cardinal fob.

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The proprietor of Curtis Key & Lock Service said for information reasons, erstwhile cars request caller fobs they person them towed to their business.

Suzanne Le Mignot