A recent TikTok trend showing viewers how to ‘jailbreak’ a Kia car with a USB cable has caused an uptick in car thefts in the United States.
At the present time in the US, many car thefts are believed to be part of a TikTok trend called “Kia challenge”, which challenges viewers to ‘steal’, unlock cars by smashing windows and using Use a USB cable or phone charger to start the car.
Most of the vehicles stolen were older Kia and Hyundai vehicles. A group of teenagers called “Kia Boyz” has just appeared on the TikTok platform and they are recently targeting vehicles due to the fact that they can ‘start’ the cars easily. Challenge videos on TikTok show that most young users are driving traffic in an ‘illegal’ way such as: crashing a car, breaking a car, ..
City police departments across the US have been reporting an increasing number of Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts that they believe are linked to the TikTok challenge.
The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) announced Wednesday that 52 vehicles, half of which are Kia and the other half Hyundai, were stolen between July 1. until July 25.
LMPD security officer Dwight Mitchell says that half of stolen vehicles have been recovered and recommends individuals keep their vehicles safe by purchasing a steering wheel lock and parking in a well-lit, open space. .
Arlington police spokesman Jesse Minton told WFAA News: “You’ve probably heard of all of these challenges, these challenges on social media, these are very dangerous actions, they are actions. breaking the law.”
Police in St.Petersburg, Florida, say 56 vehicles have been stolen in the past two weeks, with 23 of those being 2021 or later Kia and Hyundai models.
KIA & Hyundai Theft Alert!#stpete pd is seeing an unusual trend.Since July 11th, 23 out of 56 stolen cars have been Kia/Hyundais models 2021 and older,that use keys to start. Anyone with a KIA/Hyundai that uses a key, **please** #lockitup pic.twitter.com/l2ZwVHP7cd
— St. Pete Police (@StPetePD) July 27, 2022
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