IMMOBILIZED

Car Thefts Skyrocketing Across Midwest Thanks to Viral TikTok Trend

A string of hijackings across the country have sparked major concern about the vehicles’ safety features.

Car thefts are skyrocketing in some parts of the country as thieves pick up some new skills from TikTok, where a viral trend has gained steam. Sparked by viral videos of a Milwaukee gang dubbed the “Kia Boyz,” the trend exploits a security flaw in Kia models made after 2011 and Hyundai models made after 2015. The men gave a tutorial in using a standard USB charging cord to hotwire the cars. The targeted vehicles are missing an engine immobilizer, used to read unique identifiers in car keys, which became standard in models after November 2021, Hyundai told The Daily Beast. Some 23 million cars have possibly been affected by the flaw since 2011, according to sales data logged by GoodCarBadCar. Hyundai said in a statement to The Daily Beast that it is working with “local police departments to make steering wheel locks available for affected Hyundai owners.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Kia and Hyundai thefts have “skyrocketed in the last few months.” In Milwaukee, car thefts have spiked 2,500 percent, largely made up of Hyundais and Kias, CarBuzz reports. The flaw has led some Ohio residents to file a class action lawsuit.