Tiktok trend caused tens of thousands of car thefts, now a teenager has been convicted

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The Tiktok trend Kia Boyz caused tens of thousands of car thefts – now the first teenager has been convicted

They steal cars within minutes and race through the city. The so-called Kia Boyz cause a sensation at Tiktok. Now the crazy series of thefts has several legal consequences.

A red Hyundai shoots through the narrow side street. “It was at least 100 km/h,” says a young spectator happily. As he turns with squealing tires, the rear of the car crashes into a street sign, and the front misses a hydrant by a hair’s breadth. Then he sprints away. As seen in a viral YouTube video. For the driver, the jaunt in the stolen car now has legal consequences. But the problem is bigger.

Since the end of 2021, the so-called Kia Boyz (also known as Kia Boys) have been going viral on social networks and especially on Tiktok. The principle is always the same: with the simplest of means, the mostly very young actors crack cars from Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia. And then race with them in high-risk maneuvers through the city – including chases and usually ending in a crash. Again and again there are total losses, injuries and even fatalities due to the dangerous journeys.

Huge wave of car thefts

Tens of thousands of cars have been stolen as a result of viral videos in recent years. The videos have a noticeable effect, warns the Milwaukee police force. According to this, a total of 3500 cars were stolen in the city in the state of Wisconsin in 2019, the added share of Hyundai and Kia was only about six percent. In 2021 there were over 10,000 – and the share of both brands had risen to 67 percent. According to “The Verge”, more than 8,000 cars are said to have been stolen by November 2022. This time, too, cars from the two Hyundai brands had a big lead. In New York and Philadelphia, thefts of the two car brands have also quintupled.

It is no coincidence that the thieves are primarily targeting the two brands – it is one of the most important factors in the disturbing trend. It only came about because some teenagers discovered a shockingly easy way to crack brands’ models made between 2011 and 2021. To do this, it is enough to open the steering wheel console and insert an object into the ignition hole. Coincidentally, a classic USB plug fits perfectly. Because the cars do not have an electric immobilizer, they can then be started. As soon as this information reached the internet, imitators were quickly found. The Kia Boys Challenge went viral.

One year imprisonment for underage Kia Boy

The first was sentenced on Wednesday. Markell H. had confessed to having stolen a car at the age of 17 and speeding it through the city. He also drifted onto private property and almost ran over two passers-by. He has now been convicted of two serious crimes and has to live under special observation for three years. He has already served the one-year prison sentence: Because he had already been in custody for a year, that was offset against the sentence.

The fact that his crime was caught on video was pure coincidence: Youtuber Tommy Gerszewski had just made a documentary about Kia Boyz and was interviewing some of them on the street when H drove by. In the clip, his young interlocutors are unreasonable, one reports of friends who have already cracked “hundreds” of cars. The representatives of the older generation, meanwhile, are stunned.

Hyundai pays million settlement

However, the crazy viral challenge did not only have legal consequences for the young perpetrators. Hyundai was also sued by a New York court in spring because of the lack of safety measures. The company settled the lawsuit and now has to pay $200 million, including $145 million in damages for the victims of the theft series. In order to make further thefts more difficult, the company has already provided a software update for some cars, and a free exchange of the locks was also offered.

However, the reputation of the car manufacturers is likely to have suffered in the long term. “If you drive a Kia or Hyundai, it will be stolen,” summarizes one of the interviewees in the documentary, summing up public perception. The topic even appears in rap songs. “If I see a Kia – I just take it,” rhymes rapper Marry Mac in “Shake yo Nay Nay.” It’s the first line of the song.

Sources:MilwaukeeJournal,Buffalo News, New York Times, The Verge