The National Insurance Crime Bureau reports that approximately one motor vehicle is stolen every 32 seconds. In 2022, for the first time since 2008, there were more than one million vehicle thefts. They are not just disappearing from parking lots, driveways and garages. Dealerships are increasingly targeted, representing about 50% of the stolen vehicles. In fact, news reports from just the past month include victimized dealerships in Alabama, Tennessee, Maryland, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan and right here in Mississippi.

In 2021, the attorney general’s office joined a network of law enforcement agencies dedicated to fighting motor vehicle theft in cooperation with law enforcement agencies all along the Eastern seaboard and throughout the Southeast. The Mississippi Regional Vehicle Theft and Recovery Task Force has reached as far north as New Jersey, gathering intelligence that helps us to disrupt vehicle theft operations and recover stolen property. And because of the integral role that technology plays in modern vehicle theft, our cyber crime division figures in prominently to this work.

With statistics and headlines like these, it might feel like there is not much you can do to protect your business. However, an informed and ready dealership team is a great defense for these schemes. Here are a few tips you can use to protect your business and your inventory from thieves:

• Limit access to key fobs. Key fobs are literally the key to most of the methods for theft from dealership lots. Key fobs should be kept secure in tamper-proof lock boxes during and after business hours, and access to that secure location should be limited. Key fobs for higher target vehicles should be kept in a faraday or other radio frequency (RF)-blocking container.
• Train your team. One of the easier methods for getting a key fob is simply swapping out a blank key fob for the real one following a test drive. Training staff to identify decoy key fobs and check fobs can help detect this scheme before the vehicle can disappear. One of the more sophisticated methods is a relay theft, where one thief holds a relay device near the car and another holds a similar device by the fob, tricking the car and letting a thief get in quickly. Train your whole team — everyone from the sales associates to the finance manager — to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior.
• Talk to each other. If you are experiencing vehicle theft or even attempted theft, use your network at the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association to share your knowledge with others. Working together to be informed and vigilant, you can help thwart the bad guys’ plans.
• Involve law enforcement early. Even the savviest of dealers can fall victim, and my office is here to help when you need us. If you suspect fraud of any type, the best time to contact law enforcement is early. In addition to heading off theft before it happens and recovering stolen vehicles, your early warnings may help to provide information that can be used to crack other crimes.

We are pleased to work with Mississippi’s auto dealers to keep your businesses open and your property safe. Contact my office at (601) 359-3680 or investigations@ago.ms.gov, or visit attorneygenerallynnfitch.com. Do not hesitate to let us know how we can help.