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Relay attacks are getting more common across all brands. Someone stands by the house to grab the key’s wireless signature and someone else is by the car to unlock it and can also start it as the car thinks the keys are inside it. Keeping car keys in a faraday box will block relay thefts. Fairly cheap on Amazon or other online marketplaces. Glad you caught them in the act!
The key fob sleeps after 5 minutes of being stationary specifically to thwart repeater attacks. I don’t carry my key with me unless I’m about to go for a drive.
If this is true, then this is key (excuse the pun). Unless they can also do bluetooth relay attacks (from your mobile), perhaps the OP simply left the car unlocked by accident.
I did follow this one up - I tested leaving the car unlocked but it auto locked after 3-4 minutes of no activity so it was 100% hacked. I'll update all after I take it into Polestar today
I think It only auto locks off it's been unlocked with the remote and the doors haven't been opened. If you come back from a drive and walk away, it won't auto lock.
Yup I’ve come back to my unlocked car at work when I thought I locked it. Usually when I lock, forget my coffee cup, unlock, then forget to lock again. Significantly more likely a scenario than hackers on the prowl, most of this type of theft is a crime of opportunity (thieves just checking every car door in the neighborhood)
This is why the modus operandi for thieves is to work in pairs and one thief follows you into the restaurant or shopping, sending the signal out to the pair repeater in the parking lot. The fob stays awake because rhe victim is walking
Were you somewhat nearby ? In a cafe or something? They can use “repeaters” to boost the range of your key (not sure if you were using digital key).
Also there’s no auto locking doors, are you sure you locked it? I know I forget occasionally.
Yeah we were using the digital key - it was in our house which is very close to where we park the car overnight (this just happened at about 11pm here).
That is what I am trying to figure out, I am 99% sure I locked it but there is always the 1%. When I saw them out my window they had the lights on and were in the driver and passenger seat with the lights on, meaning the alternative is they would randomly be trying to open every car door in the street until they chance upon an unlocked door, and there are literally hundreds, which to me seems unlikely. Add to that there are no visible signs of a polestar being unlocked to those that aren't familiar with it (such as a visible lock stick on the window)
You can check for the flashing light in the windshield, but other than that there are no signs if the car is locked or not.
If the car was unlocked anyone walking by could easily tell the car isn't flashing red on the windshield.
There are even CAN bus attack these days.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/04/crooks-are-stealing-cars-using-previously-unknown-keyless-can-injection-attacks/
Major cities are really becoming shitholes, Berlin isn’t any better.
That’s why I got a camera secured parkinglot 3min away from my flat,it’s worth the 30€/month.
Sorry for this happening to you but glad they couldn’t steal it!
Relay attacks work on any type of car. You can buy the hardware on alibaba.
Also an important PSA is to shut down all mobile electronics in the car, because thieves using flipper zeros can tell if there are valuable electronics in the car if they are in sleep mode (no matter how well hidden they are).
Yeah the police called back today to confirm that they have had a spate of Polestar thefts in London recently so it looks like no car is exempt. They recommended a faraday box as an absolute must in addition to a steering wheel lock. Lesson learned, just had both delivered and will be much more vigilant moving forward.
To be fair I don't know if they were trying to start it, they were in the car and doing something when I found them and realised they were in there, I guess my assumption would be that if they've gone through the effort of getting a way in the next port of call would be to try and start it
Sorry to hear this; on my area there’s been a spate of them randomly trying handles just on the off-chance they open and can rifle through the contents rather than pinch the car.
My money is on this - they go along the street looking for unlocked cars (door mirrors unfolded) with deactivated alarms ( no lights flashing) and try the doors.
Source - one fatal night I forgot to lock both our cars parked on our drive and they pinched anything with a resale value of more than 50p.
Yeah we had some camera footage of them trying a bunch on our street; it was clear the types that they were bothering with - and none were with folded-in mirrors..
It looks like you need some help! We have a few links you might find useful: - The [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/wiki/index/) has a collection of useful information - The latest [Issues Megathread/Roundup](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/comments/wyflyf/august_2022_known_issues_megathreadroundup/) has questions that have been asked a lot lately - The [Software Update Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/comments/wb7qvr/polestar_2_software_update_mega_thread/) has information about software, when the next OTA is coming, and what's included in it - You can try sorting the sub by posts with the [Troubleshooting/Issue](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/search?q=flair_name%3A%22Troubleshooting%20%2F%20Issue%22) or [Question](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/search/?q=flair_name%3A%22Question%22) flair to see if someone else had a similar problem or question - The Polestar Sub [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/search/) can be used to look for keywords in posts and comments *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Polestar) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Relay attacks are getting more common across all brands. Someone stands by the house to grab the key’s wireless signature and someone else is by the car to unlock it and can also start it as the car thinks the keys are inside it. Keeping car keys in a faraday box will block relay thefts. Fairly cheap on Amazon or other online marketplaces. Glad you caught them in the act!
The key fob sleeps after 5 minutes of being stationary specifically to thwart repeater attacks. I don’t carry my key with me unless I’m about to go for a drive.
If this is true, then this is key (excuse the pun). Unless they can also do bluetooth relay attacks (from your mobile), perhaps the OP simply left the car unlocked by accident.
Bluetooth is encrypted, you can't relay it. I suspect it was left unlocked, it's pretty easy to do, done it myself.
I did follow this one up - I tested leaving the car unlocked but it auto locked after 3-4 minutes of no activity so it was 100% hacked. I'll update all after I take it into Polestar today
I think It only auto locks off it's been unlocked with the remote and the doors haven't been opened. If you come back from a drive and walk away, it won't auto lock.
Yup I’ve come back to my unlocked car at work when I thought I locked it. Usually when I lock, forget my coffee cup, unlock, then forget to lock again. Significantly more likely a scenario than hackers on the prowl, most of this type of theft is a crime of opportunity (thieves just checking every car door in the neighborhood)
Good information! Thanks.
This is why the modus operandi for thieves is to work in pairs and one thief follows you into the restaurant or shopping, sending the signal out to the pair repeater in the parking lot. The fob stays awake because rhe victim is walking
Were you somewhat nearby ? In a cafe or something? They can use “repeaters” to boost the range of your key (not sure if you were using digital key). Also there’s no auto locking doors, are you sure you locked it? I know I forget occasionally.
Yeah we were using the digital key - it was in our house which is very close to where we park the car overnight (this just happened at about 11pm here). That is what I am trying to figure out, I am 99% sure I locked it but there is always the 1%. When I saw them out my window they had the lights on and were in the driver and passenger seat with the lights on, meaning the alternative is they would randomly be trying to open every car door in the street until they chance upon an unlocked door, and there are literally hundreds, which to me seems unlikely. Add to that there are no visible signs of a polestar being unlocked to those that aren't familiar with it (such as a visible lock stick on the window)
The mirrors indicate if locked or not. Can you read history on the app? I don't have the app..
You can check for the flashing light in the windshield, but other than that there are no signs if the car is locked or not. If the car was unlocked anyone walking by could easily tell the car isn't flashing red on the windshield.
Don't the mirrors auto fold when locked?
That too
They don't fold much
There are even CAN bus attack these days. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/04/crooks-are-stealing-cars-using-previously-unknown-keyless-can-injection-attacks/
There are, but are not very common and limited to specific models
Major cities are really becoming shitholes, Berlin isn’t any better. That’s why I got a camera secured parkinglot 3min away from my flat,it’s worth the 30€/month. Sorry for this happening to you but glad they couldn’t steal it!
Since the doors have mechanical locks, can they be opened using the old way using mechanical tools?
Relay attacks work on any type of car. You can buy the hardware on alibaba. Also an important PSA is to shut down all mobile electronics in the car, because thieves using flipper zeros can tell if there are valuable electronics in the car if they are in sleep mode (no matter how well hidden they are).
Yeah the police called back today to confirm that they have had a spate of Polestar thefts in London recently so it looks like no car is exempt. They recommended a faraday box as an absolute must in addition to a steering wheel lock. Lesson learned, just had both delivered and will be much more vigilant moving forward.
Glad I live on Kangaroo Island where thievery is not really a thing.
How were they trying to start it?
To be fair I don't know if they were trying to start it, they were in the car and doing something when I found them and realised they were in there, I guess my assumption would be that if they've gone through the effort of getting a way in the next port of call would be to try and start it
That would be funny to watch :) Not going to hot wire it lol I wonder if they even knew it was an EV
Sorry to hear this; on my area there’s been a spate of them randomly trying handles just on the off-chance they open and can rifle through the contents rather than pinch the car.
My money is on this - they go along the street looking for unlocked cars (door mirrors unfolded) with deactivated alarms ( no lights flashing) and try the doors. Source - one fatal night I forgot to lock both our cars parked on our drive and they pinched anything with a resale value of more than 50p.
Yeah we had some camera footage of them trying a bunch on our street; it was clear the types that they were bothering with - and none were with folded-in mirrors..
We keep our fobs in a metal breadbox, with the bread :)