On Thursday, Los Angeles police warned owners of Chevrolet Camaros that criminals are using a new method of stealing their specific vehicle that has caused a 1,285% spike in thefts of it.
“Key clone devices have been utilized in many newer model Camaro thefts,” the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a statement. “These devices are about the size of a cell phone and area programming tool that picks up the signal of a key fob nearby which the device then clones.”
The Gang Enforcement Detail belonging to the LAPD’s Newton Community Police Station arrested a minor, who was allegedly in possession of such a device, the statement said.
“This young person was stealing the Camaros and taking them to street takeovers and then selling them for $2,000 or $3,000 on social media,” Newton Division Capt. Keith Green told the Los Angeles Times. “A 16-year-old was capable of stealing high-end cars.”
The suspect, along with another teenager fleeing a Camaro they had abandoned, was spotted by police, who arrested them, according to the LA Times.
“In 2023, seven Camaros were stolen city-wide and, year-to-date, there have been 90 Camaros stolen,” bringing the percentage increase in the thefts to 1,285% Los Angeles-wide, according to the statement.
The Newton area has seen a 500% jump in Camaro thefts, from two in all of 2023 to 10 from Jan. 2024 to date, the statement noted.
During a large street takeover on Christmas Day in 2022, a Camaro lost control, spun out, and killed one, injuring six or seven others, the LAPD said in a Jan. 2023 press release. The suspect fled the scene and even after the collision, two vehicles continued performing “donuts,” the LAPD said. The Camaro is a popular vehicle for use in such events.
Illegal street racing in LA and other cities in the region is a problem “dating back to the 1960s, with spectators numbering over 400 at times,” the LAPD said. “Getting these drivers and their cars off the street will save lives.”
The police also added that Illegal street racing causes so much damage to the vehicles so quickly that participants prefer to use stolen vehicles.
LAPD detectives advised Camaro owners not to keep their key fobs in or near their vehicles, but to keep them in security cases or in tin cans, in order to keep their signal transmissions protected and unable to be hijacked by a key clone device.
Victims of Camaro thefts possibly facilitated by cloning devices and anyone with useful information may reach out to contacts provided in the LAPD statement.
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