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Rash of Hyundai and Kia cars reported stolen in Austin

By FOX 32 Digital Staff
Published  October 20, 2022 6:13am CDT
Austin
FOX 32 Chicago

TikTok trend prompts car theft warning

This past weekend, over a dozen Kia and Hyundai vehicles were stolen in Lake County, Indiana, using this new method spreading on TikTok.

CHICAGO - Chicago police are warning West Side residents after a series of vehicles were stolen this month in the Austin neighborhood.

Five Hyundai and Kia vehicles have been stolen from the street and from a parking lot bordered by Washington, Madison, Menard, and Central, according to a CPD community alert.

The vehicle thefts occurred at the following times and locations:

  • Between 4:20 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the first block of North Menard Avenue
  • At 2:43 p.m. on Oct. 9 in the 5600 block of West Washington Boulevard
  • At 1:23 p.m. on Oct. 12 in the 5600 block of West Washington Boulevard
  • At 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the first block of North Parkside Avenue
  • Between 3 p.m. Oct. 13 and 12:15 p.m. Oct 14 in the first block of North Waller Avenue

There has been a wave of Hyundai and Kia thefts over the past year driven by social media.

Criminals discovered that 2011 to 2021 Kias and 2015 to 2021 Hyundais equipped with ignitions that use a physical key, rather than a wireless key fob and push-button, could be started by using the tip of a USB cable, and the technique was posted online last year.

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Tens of thousands of cars have been stolen since, some of them by teens not even old enough to have a driver's license.

A new analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that the theft claim frequency was more than 80% higher for 2015-2019 model-year Kias and Hyundais combined than the average of all other brands.

Anyone with information on the stolen vehicles in Austin is asked to contact Area Four detectives at (312) 746-8253.