Before the arrival of the iPhone in 2007, Nokia was the undisputed leader in the cell phone industry. Its most famous model, the Nokia 3310, was known for its practicality and ruggedness. Now, however, the device is being used by car thieves in the United States to steal vehicles. Criminals use tiny devices that they hide in the casings of old phones, such as the Nokia 3310, to interface with the vehicle’s control system.
This problem has been going on for months, but alarms were raised after a video was posted on the YouTube channel “Motherboard.” The video shows how easy it is to start a car with the help of this device, which on the second-hand market sells for prices ranging from €2,500 to €18,000. In addition to the Nokia 3310, thieves use Bluetooth speaker devices or other cell phone models.
Once the criminals have gained access to the necessary cables, they can activate the car’s smart key by sending fake messages. The underlying problem is that vehicles trust these messages without verifying them, as they appear to come from the key’s receiver.
This phenomenon has caught the attention of the media and the police, who are investigating the matter. Authorities are urging vehicle owners to take additional security measures, such as using locking devices or installing security cameras.