Sophisticated Thieves Targeting On-Star Equipped Chevy Silverados
If you are driving a newer General Motors vehicle (Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, or Buick) equipped with OnStar, you probably think that the tracking feature that comes with the service would thwart would be thieves. I mean, what good is stealing a vehicle when it tells the cops exactly where you are - right? Not so fast.
In North Texas, a group of sophisticated and obviously professional car thieves have discovered a way to disable the OnStar system in order to make a clean getaway. Normally, the service takes advantage of satellites and the cellular network to track the vehicle's whereabouts at all times. In the case of a theft, the information is used by law enforcement to find the vehicle and (hopefully) apprehend the bad guys responsible for the crime.
According to NBCDFW, these pros have been caught on security cameras swapping out computers, disabling the OnStar, and making off with the pilfered pickup in under 3 minutes.
The North Texas Auto Task Force says that 2015 to 2018 Chevy Silverados are the most vulnerable. They suggest owners invest in security cameras and a secondary and separate anti-theft device.