How to Protect Yourself Against Car Theft

But car theft is not only the concern of Torontonians. Further north within the province, Ottawa residents are cautioned to take measures to protect themselves against car theft.

Citizens of Ottawa have filed over 800 reports of stolen vehicles this year, and police say in many cases, organized crime groups are taking them to the nearest port, Montreal, to be shipped overseas. Once a thief has entered a vehicle, they can connect to the on-board computer to start the car and drive away undetected in under a minute. This makes it imperative to protect your vehicle multiple ways, such as:

How to protect your vehicle against theft:

• Use a steering wheel or diagnostic port lock
• Park your car in a garage or well-lit spot
• Use tracking services or vehicle-specific apps to monitor suspicious activity
• Always take your keys with you when you park, don’t leave your vehicle running, make sure your doors and windows are closed and always set the emergency brake.
• Don’t leave the original ownership or insurance cards in your vehicle — consider a photocopy instead.
• When parking, turn your wheels toward the curb to make it harder to tow away.
• If you have a rear-wheel-drive car, back into your spot.
• If you have a front-wheel-drive car, park facing forward.
• Lock your doors as close to your vehicle as possible. Locking your car from a distance creates a range that can leave your fob’s signal vulnerable to being intercepted.

For push-start vehicles, Det. Doug Belanger of the Ottawa Police recommends utilizing a port lock. A port lock is a metal case with a key lock covering the diagnostic port beneath your steering column. A thief has to try to open the port lock with a drill or even more sophisticated equipment, which can take quite some time and is not always successful. Having a port lock on your car is an inexpensive way to prevent car thieves from breaking in and stealing your vehicle.

Équité Association logged 11,000 stolen vehicles across Canada in 2021. Of that, 5,475 were stolen vehicle reports in Ontario. And, cases of stolen vehicles are expected to rise as thieves have adapted to sophisticated methods to steal new and luxury cars.

The list of top-10 most stolen vehicles in Canada has officially be released. Did your vehicle make the list below?

Article sources: CBC / CTV News / Équité Association

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