A dangerous challenge that’s going viral on TikTok and other social media platforms has car owners and police departments across the country on alert – challenging teens to steal some cars on the road street by USB cord.
Target? Some 2010-2021 Kia and Hyundai vehicles use a mechanical key, not a mechanical key, and a button to start the vehicle. The trend began last year, investigators told CNBC, and the number of stolen cars is continuing to rise across the country.
In St.Petersburg, Florida, police said more than a third of all car thefts there since mid-July were related to the TikTok challenge. Los Angeles officials say the viral trend has led to an 85 percent increase in thefts from Hyundais and Kias from last year.
The story is similar in Chicago, according to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
“Only in our jurisdiction, [thefts of certain models are] up more than 800% in the last month,” he said. We see no end in sight. “
The trend challenges teenagers to steal cars on the street by breaking into cars, jumping off the steering wheel and connecting the car’s hot wire with a USB cable, similar to the wire used to charge a phone.
“The viral nature of how this has gone viral on social media – it’s accelerated like we’ve never seen before,” Dart said. “[The perpetrators are] do it for 20 to 30 seconds. It’s just as outdated as you can imagine. “
Dart told CNBC that the thieves are mostly teenagers — some, not even old enough to legally drive. The stolen cars are often used for fun, or used to commit other crimes and then left on the side of the road, he said.
Dart said: “We have an 11-year-old who is one of our best thieves… the notion that they can drive is a fantasy.
Thieves posted videos online of car thefts and driving, using the hashtag “Kia Boys” – which has more than 33 million views on TikTok. The social media company said in a statement that it “does not tolerate this behavior that violates our policies and will be removed if found on our platform.”
Illinois resident Karen Perkins said her 2019 Kia Sorrento was stolen in front of her apartment on August 6.
“I looked out the window and realized my car was gone,” Perkins said.
Days later, she was renting a car at a red light when she said her missing Kia was driving right in front of her.
“I saw a young boy sitting in the front,” Perkins said. “I was driving around the block… five kids actually jumped in my car – that’s when I started to panic – like I was going to lose my car forever.”
Perkins told CNBC she went hunting to track down her Kia. Hours later, she found it deserted by the side of the road and called the police. She said the abandoned Kia was badly damaged.
“They hit the front end of my car… they damaged the bumper,” Perkins said. “They even wrote on my ceiling…it said ‘hot car.'”
Tom Gerszewski, a filmmaker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, watches the crime wave go viral on his YouTube channel in “Documentary Kia Boys,“topped 3.7 million views.
“This is what they do for fun after school,” Gerszewski told CNBC. “They don’t really sympathize with the people they’re doing this with.”
Ken McClain, an attorney in Missouri, says some of the causes of theft lie with the automakers – Kia and Hyundai – who say the companies make cars too easy to steal. .
McClain called the problem a “defect”. To date, his company has filed class-action lawsuits in 12 states: California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Texas. He is also preparing to file in seven other states.
“We get dozens of calls every day,” McClain said. “Producer[s] should have paid for this. “
Kia and Hyundai could not comment on the number of vehicles included in the year and model year and potentially at risk.
A Kia spokesperson said the company is concerned about the rise in thefts and has provided a free steering wheel lock device to law enforcement officials in affected areas.
“It is unfortunate that criminals are using social media to target immobile non-motorized vehicles in a coordinated effort,” the spokesperson said.
“Although no vehicle can be built to be burglar-proof, criminals are looking for vehicles equipped only with steel keys and ‘on-to-start’ ignition systems. The vast majority of Kia vehicles are in the area. The United States is equipped with keys and a “-button-to-start” system, making them more difficult to steal.All Kia 2022 models and models equipped with the immobilizer will be introduced at the beginning of the year. template or while making changes.”
A Hyundai spokesperson said the company is pursuing a similar effort to distribute steering wheel locks and the company will start selling a protector next month.
According to Dart of the Cook County Sherriff’s Office, old wheel lock anti-theft devices can go a long way in preventing theft.
“It was almost impossible to maneuver the car,” he said.
– CNBC columnist Peter Ferrarse contributed to this report.
