Armed men rob locksmith of key fob duplicator in South Loop

According to Chicago Police, two men lured a locksmith to the South Loop and then robbed him
of his car key fob programmer on Sunday afternoon. Auto theft rings are
increasingly using fob programmers to steal vehicles across the city.

A 37-year-old locksmith responded to a service call in the 2000 block
of South State around 3:38 p.m. Sunday and met with two men, according
to Chicago police.

According to a CPD report, the men stated that they
were locked out of their vehicle and directed him to a Dodge Durango.

After a brief conversation, one of the men allegedly pulled  a gun and
demanded the locksmith’s key fob programmer. Both robbers left the scene
on foot, police said.

According to Chicago Police statistics, auto thefts across the city are down 24% from the record level reported last year. Car thefts surged beginning in June 2022 as thieves known as “Kia Boys”
exploited a design flaw, allowing them to steal certain Kia and Hyundai
vehicles by using a USB plug as the key.

Even with the 24% decline, this year’s auto theft tally is still 141% higher than 2020 and 135% higher than 2021, years when Covid was raging and people were not out and about as much, nor driving nearly as much as now.

Increasingly, more sophisticated auto theft crews have been using key
fob duplicators to steal vehicles, including high-end makes and models.