Car burglars are also moving with the times: while a wire loop used to be enough to open a vehicle, today thieves, for example, have a code grabber in their trouser pocket. With this small device you can intercept and use the radio signal from the car locking system. However, one person can no longer do that for the time being: a Munich district judge sent him to prison for three years and two months.
The 42-year-old had taken the method of grabbing – the expression comes from English and means grabbing, grabbing – to the extreme in Munich: For more than three years he hung around in well-used parking lots in and around Munich – preferably in those , which he knew people wouldn’t come back to in a hurry because they were going for a walk or attending an event.
If they locked their car by pressing the smart key, the 42-year-old activated the grabber. Such a code grabber, for example, is delivered to your home via a Chinese sales platform for a good 400 euros. The “grabber” recorded the beeping radio signal and played it back when people were out of sight.
The thief then searched the car for valuables, but also for keys and documents. And in some cases, the car owners had left apartment or house keys in the car along with the address. This made it easy for the 42-year-old to drive to the apartments and steal valuables. The public prosecutor accused the man of a total of 23 thefts, seven of which were from apartments. The total value of the loot was more than 60,000 euros.
The thief made a confession
In front of the Kadi, the thief appeared remorseful and made a confession. This saved the injured party from having to testify in court. Especially the people whose homes and therefore their privacy he had invaded. The court said that although there were no residential burglaries in the classic sense, the defendant’s actions still had “significant, particularly psychological, consequences” for the injured parties.
The court also weighed in with the incriminating arguments that the man had acted very systematically: first bought the grabber on the Internet, then specifically searched for parking spaces and finally broke into the apartments. “The acts reflect a high level of criminal energy,” is how the court saw it. The verdict against the 42-year-old is final.
The police have a few tips on how best to defend yourself against grabbers: Basically, you shouldn’t leave any valuables in the car – and certainly not in a clearly visible place. You should also always check whether you have actually locked the car. Thieves also use jammers that prevent the central locking system from being activated. So it’s best to always pull the door handle briefly to make sure it’s locked.