The communications between your key fob and car are intended to take place only when the fob is near the vehicle (usually “near” means within approximately a yard or so from the vehicle), thereby ensuring that the car can be opened only when the owner is nearby. A relatively simple device that physically boosts the wireless signal between fobs and cars, however, enables communication to take place between at least some manufacturer’s fobs and cars when the two are much further apart. By leveraging such a signal booster, a criminal can trick a car into thinking that the fob is close by even when it is much further than a yard away; some reports claim that devices for sale online may work to open cars even if their associated fobs are as far away as the distance of an entire football field!

So, if your car is parked not far from your home – on your driveway or in a parking spot nearby – someone intent on breaking into your vehicle can potentially use the device to allow the car to “see” the fob located in your house as close by (a process that takes place almost instantaneously) and then open your car door as if you were standing next to the vehicle. The same is true for someone who enters your office parking lot while you are at work, or approaches your car in a restaurant parking lot while you are at dinner. Walls and the like may sometimes interfere with a thief’s attempts – but they often don’t; there are enough reports of successful break-ins to undermine any claim that they are a sufficient defense.