Hijackers in South Africa are no longer waiting until nightfall to prey on their targets as data from Naked Insurance shows that the majority of these crimes now take place before noon.
Speaking to BusinessTech, Naked co-founder Ernest North said that hijackings account for 54% of vehicle thefts between 05h00 and 12h00, 47% between 12h00 to 21h00, and 25% between 21h00 and 05h00.
This reflects a subtle shift in behaviour when compared to previous data provided by Tracker, in which the firm said that the majority of vehicles are hijacked in the later hours of the day, for example, between 16h00 and 20h00 on Fridays and between 11h00 and 15h00 on Saturdays.
“There’s a common perception that crimes like hijacking mainly occur after dark, but these statistics remind us that drivers must remain vigilant at all times,” said North.
Popular hijacking methods in South Africa
Hijackers today rely on several methods to target their victims, ranging from old-school tactics to high-tech strategies.
According to car-tracking company Cartrack, one of the most common methods in recent years for stealing a vehicle is signal-relay attacks.
Modern vehicles often come with keyless entry and start systems which make use of a wireless signal transmitter that detects when the key fob is near the car and allows the owner to access it.
Criminals therefore use signal relay devices to pick up the signal of the key in the owner’s pocket and relay it to another device close to the vehicle to dupe the system into thinking the owner is nearby and unlocking the doors.
Another advanced tactic is key cloning.
By using special cloning devices, thieves can save the radio signals emitted by a key fob and subsequently create a copy of these signals in just a few seconds, which they can use to open the car’s doors, start it, and drive away.
Military-grade car key signal jammers confiscated from suspected thieves. Source: SAPS
With a large proportion of vehicles on South Africa’s roads being around a decade old or more, these sophisticated methods may not always do the trick.
Therefore, there are still many incidents where criminals use brute force and intimidation to get what they want.
Approximately 71% of carjackings in South Africa take place in a victim’s driveway, with hijackers stopping behind a motorist as they arrive home to block their exit and subsequently take their vehicle.
Brazen thieves may even impersonate police officials with blue lights on top of their cars and official uniforms.
These “blue light gangs” set up fake roadblocks under the impression that they are carrying out official police business and then steal motorists’ cars once they pull over. In extreme cases, they will even assault and kidnap the victim and take them to ATMs to withdraw cash.
In other incidents, thieves have resorted to using the “tap tap” trap to catch drivers off guard.
After deciding on their target, the criminals will drive behind a vehicle and bump into it on purpose. They may even get a lone female driver as a decoy to give the victim a false sense of security.
Once the driver stops and gets out to assess the damage and swap insurance details, the hijackers overpower them and steal their car.
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