{"id":15129,"date":"2018-08-19T01:32:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-19T01:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/?p=15129"},"modified":"2023-04-16T01:34:05","modified_gmt":"2023-04-16T01:34:05","slug":"dots-put-thieves-on-the-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/dots-put-thieves-on-the-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Dots put thieves on the spot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As car thieves use increasingly high\u00ad tech methods to steal valuable vehicles, detectives are turning to high-tech methods to stop them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waitemata\u2019s Tactical Crime Team (TCT) recently terminated Operation Ma loo, charging an Auckland man with stealing high-value, late-model Holden HSVs and re-birthing them using identities of written-off vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite elaborate steps taken to disguise the vehicles, TCT head Detective Sergeant Callum McNeill was aware they were marked with thousands of tiny data dots containing unique \u2018DNA\u2019 which allowed them to be identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s virtually impossible to locate and remove all the data dots, making it extremely difficult for thieves to re-birth stolen vehicles or sell stolen parts through second-hand dealers and wreckers\u2019 yards.\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Callum \u2013 who is accredited with the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) \u2013 says investigation and SOCO staff can locate and read the dots using easily available equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investigation team established vehicles were stolen using reprogrammed keys to beat \u2018key less\u2019 ignition systems. They were given a new identity by re-birthing them into shells of written-off Holdens bought online and imported from Australia. The bulk of the stolen car\u2019s parts were transferred into the repaired shell, leaving just the stolen shell to be disposed of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, all Holden HSV vehicles since 2001 have been sprayed with \u2018data dots\u2019 \u2013 about the size of a grain of sand and encoded with information including a unique 17-digit vehicle identification number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are also used on most late-model Subarus, BMWs. Porsches, Ford Performance Vehicles. Lexus, Mitsubishi Evo 6s, later Minis and Audis and some motorcycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Callum is concerned New Zealand is following high-tech trends evident in the UK and Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the past we\u2019ve dealt with car thieves who use a pipe wrench, screwdriver and slide hammer,\u201d says Callum. \u201cNow high-tech thieves are carrying OBD diagnostic tools, code-grabbing machines and replacement engine control units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne way to combat car thieves is to fit GPS tracking devices and encourage the use of visible deterrents including steering locks. It could be enough to panic and delay a thief armed with a key programmer rather than a hacksaw.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courtesy of the New Zealand Police Magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As car thieves use increasingly high\u00ad tech methods to steal valuable vehicles, detectives are turning to high-tech methods to stop them. Waitemata\u2019s Tactical Crime Team (TCT) recently terminated Operation Ma loo, charging an Auckland man with stealing high-value, late-model Holden HSVs and re-birthing them using identities of written-off vehicles. Despite elaborate steps taken to disguise […]<\/p>\n

Read More… from Dots put thieves on the spot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/NZ_HSV.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15130,"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15129\/revisions\/15130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.datadotdna.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}