BALTIMORE — A recent trend on social media has some people worried about having their cars stolen with a USB cord.
The TikTok trend crowned the “Kia boyz” has been responsible for dozens of cars throughout the country being easily stolen with a cellphone charger.
Ashley Foote, who lives in New York, said that while vacationing in Missouri, she had her Kia stolen and the thieves used a USB cord to start and steal the car.
“When I got into my car, there was about five different USB cords in the car, so it seemed as though they were just trying different cords," Foote said. "That’s when we called the Kia dealership to see if there was like any tracking we could find out."
Foote wasn’t aware of the trend circulating on TikTok showing people how to easily steal the Kia cars, and she said the Kia dealership didn’t know how to prevent it from happening again.
“My car was probably taken in 30 seconds," Foote said. "There was no glass that was broken. My alarm didn't signal. They did not need a key, and the KIA dealer said that it was about 60 KIA’s per day that were being stolen. I had a 2019 Kia Forte."
The KIA cars being targeted are models between 2011 and 2021. There are also Hyundai models newer than 2015 that have experienced the same issues.
Hyundai said they’re working to ensure the safety of their customers and deter thefts. KIA said its 2022 model year and beyond have an immobilizer installed to prevent this from happening.
However, Foote is sharing tips of her own to help anyone who owns a KIA.
“You know, I would just also recommend people getting extra alarm systems on their cars if they can," Foote said. "And if they have Ring cameras that can be close enough to maybe alert of any movement. The next best preventative measure could be to purchase a kill switch that then kills the battery completely."
A few Kia dealerships in the Baltimore area said this hasn’t been an issue locally, but they are aware and keeping an eye out for this trend.
