Man’s Car Stolen From KL Mall’s Valet but Found Later With Apple AirTag

A posting by Facebook user Zach Khai Shin went viral when he alleged that his Honda HR-V was stolen from the valet parking at KLCC.

He detailed in the post that the valet still had the key and that the car was turned off. He added that he was only in the mall for 30 minutes before the car’s disappearance.

In his initial posting he mentioned that the car’s internal GPS was still running and that he had located the car in the Subang area.

In a follow up post he details how he had an Apple AirTag in his car, a GPS puck that you can keep on your person or objects to locate them.

The suspect who stole the car had driven it into a residential carpark and subsequent CCTV footage by the building revealed that the suspect was still in the building.

They called the police and the suspect was arrested on the spot.

Zach thanks the Apple AirTag for the quick recovery and raised questions about the safety and security of KLCC’s valet service.

So how did the thief drive the car away without its car keys? It might have been a ‘relay attack’, a digital theft technique where criminals exploit vulnerabilities in keyless entry and start systems.

Like a relay the technique requires 2 individuals one at the key fob and one at the door to trick the system into thinking the key is with you.

Though wireless entry and start are convenient, cases like these remind us that technology in the wrong hands will always do more harm than good.

Well, if nothing else, this story has convinced us that we need to hide an Apple AirTag in our cars.