From NyQuil-marinated hen to the milk crate problem, TikTok has served as a petri dish for numerous ridiculous and ill-advised tendencies. In lots of circumstances, we solely hear about these tendencies after a handful of remoted circumstances garner vital media consideration — one girl plastering her hair with Gorilla Glue makes headlines, however most viewers roll their eyes relatively than following in her footsteps. Nonetheless, there have been a couple of incidents the place TikTok fads spiraled uncontrolled to create substantial real-world issues. The so-called Kia Boys development falls into this class. What began as a sequence of viral movies from a bunch of masked teenage automobile thieves within the Milwaukee space has escalated to a nationwide surge of Kia and Hyundai thefts. And in contrast to different types of automobile theft, criminals are in a position to steal these automobiles with nothing greater than a screwdriver and an odd USB cable.
Above: This 2011 Kia Forte is certainly one of many fashions affected by the Kia Boys theft development. (Photograph through Flickr.com/thekcb)
Why Kia and Hyundai?
Above: This nonetheless from a Kia Boys documentary by YouTuber Tommy G exhibits a bunch of males joyriding in a Hyundai Elantra.
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Authorities say this drawback impacts all 2011-2021 Kia automobiles and 2015-2021 Hyundai automobiles, a complete of roughly 10 million automobiles, however not different makes and fashions. It’s because — allegedly as a cost-cutting measure — these automobiles had been constructed with out “chipped” keys and engine immobilizers. In automobiles with engine immobilizers, the ignition system will solely operate when a key that has been programmed with the suitable code is inserted. In different phrases, you want each a bodily key (the steel half) and a digital key (the chip) to begin most trendy automobiles. That is not the case with late-model Kias and Hyundais, which solely want a bodily key.
Above: A public service announcement from the Norfolk Police Division in Virginia. The division reported a 35% enhance in thefts of Kia and Hyundai automobiles in July 2022.
When criminals realized this, they started on the lookout for methods to bypass the important thing cylinder on the steering column. Sadly for Kia and Hyundai homeowners, this was additionally surprisingly straightforward. On these automobiles, the cylinder might be pried aside with a screwdriver in a matter of seconds, revealing an oblong tab that may be turned to begin the automobile.
One other merchandise that is commonly-found in nearly all automobiles — a USB cable — matches completely onto this tab:
Above: This nonetheless from a video by Fox 2 Detroit exhibits how thieves use a USB cable to steal these automobiles.
Quite a few police departments all through the US have reported a sudden enhance in automobile thefts because the TikTok movies started circulating in July 2022. In line with a CNBC report, St. Petersburg, Florida introduced that greater than 1/3 of all automobile thefts between July and September had been linked to the Kia Boys development. Chicago officers acknowledged, “Car theft is up an astounding 767% attributable to an rising TikTok problem.” One auto store proprietor in Ohio mentioned that greater than 30 Kia and Hyundai automobiles had been towed to his store with broken steering columns in a single week.
In Tommy G’s Kia Boys documentary video, one masked teenager expressed no concern of punishment: “You solely going [to jail] for like three weeks. It’s a misdemeanor.”
Preventative Measures
Above: A public-service bulletin from the Los Angeles Police Division.
Though some would possibly count on Kia and Hyundai to recall these automobiles and set up immobilizers, that seems unlikely as a result of immense price of putting in new ignition cylinders and re-keying each affected car. Some estimates place this price at greater than $5 billion.
In a press release to the Cincinnati Enquirer, a Kia America spokesperson mentioned that “no automobile might be made theft-proof” and continued, “All of our automobiles meet or exceed Federal Motor Car Security Requirements.” Sad with this conclusion, homeowners have filed lawsuits towards Kia and Hyundai in at the very least seven states. One lawsuit claims that these firms “blatantly [valued] earnings over the security and safety of their clients.”
Whereas the attorneys struggle it out in courtroom, authorities suggest Hyundai and Kia homeowners set up a steering wheel lock (just like the Membership pictured above) and/or hidden kill change to scale back the chance of theft. Sadly, auto components shops in some main cities have reported shortages of those units. It is also advisable to comply with commonsense measures corresponding to parking in a well-lit space and protecting your automobile locked always. A GPS monitoring machine corresponding to an Apple Airtag would possibly make it easier to get well a stolen car, however as we mentioned prior to now, Airtags are additionally utilized by criminals to trace fascinating automobiles.
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Written by Patrick McCarthy
