In the early morning of January 29th, 2025, Delhi Police Officers watched from unmarked vehicles as two men scouted parked cars in an industrial area of the city.
At 3:00 AM, the suspects, Mehta, 30, and Faisal, 36 approached a target car carrying what appeared to be a small tablet in their hands. Within minutes, they would have driven away with another stolen car and added it to the 50 vehicles they had stolen in the days prior.
But this time, police were waiting.
The Autel MaxIM – The Tech Criminals Are Rushing For
Mehta and Faisal were arrested and the device in their possession was the Autel MaxIM, an automotive key programmer designed for locksmiths and car dealers to program car keys.
They live in India, but their method has spread now to the US where the same technique is catching fire.
The device they used is affordable and everywhere, selling for only $535 on Amazon and anyone, including criminals, can get their hands on them.
This device is being called the new “Infinite Car Glitch” because its giving car theives a fast way to create keys in seconds for almost any car on the road.
The Tech Locksmiths and Dealerships Use Is Being Exploited
The AutelMaxIM KM100 is small, it fits in the palm of your hand and it features a 5.5-inch touchscreen that can program a fully functioning car key in just 60 seconds.
But it doesn’t just do that. The KM100 can read and clone transponder chips, bypass immobilizer systems, and generate universal keys that work across 700+ vehicle models.
For professional locksmiths the device is a huge time and cost saver, generating replacement keys for car owners without requiring an expensive tow to the dealership.
Fleet managers use it to efficiently manage keys for hundreds of vehicles, and Dealerships rely on it for warranty repairs and new vehicle preparation.
But all of these capabilities make it an ideal magic machine for car thieves that want to steal cars in as little as a minute.
“Strikers” Are Buying Up These Devices
On Telegram and the dark web, a band of professional auto thieves refer to themselves as “strikers” or “striker boyz”. Just like the Kia Boys, their hobby is stealing cars.
Strikers refer to cars that are stolen and used for a very short period of time. Striker Boys will take the cars for joy rides and then dump them or sell them on Facebook Marketplace as Striker Cars.
Eric Huber, the CyberCrime Research Leader at TD Bank, first identified the trend of these devices being used as the mentions of the hardware percolated online.
And the devices are now a hot commodity.
“Been tryna find me one for months”, one Telegram user post online. He poses with a machine gun laid on top of the carrying case of one of the Autotel devices.
“Can’t find one nowhere”, replies another frustrated striker. This is a device they all want but just can’t seem to get their hands on one.
The devices however seem readily available online shipping from major suppliers like Amazon in as little as a few hours.
“I’m Going To Show You How To Glitch A Camaro”
A video posted on Linkedin by Eric Huber shows how easy these devices are to operate. In fact, Telegram users are more than happy to show you how.
In this video, the user post a demo video and starts it by saying, “I’m going to show you how to glitch”, and then proceeds to create a new electronic key for a Chevrolet Camaro in a couple of minutes.
How They Carry Out The Glitch
The process for stealing a car these days using the Glitch method is different than the old days or breaking into cars.
It typically involves 4 steps.
Step 1 – Selecting A Target Car
Criminals identify vehicles based on specific models requested by buyers or that they know are easy to steal. Popular targets include push-to-start vehicles from Honda, Nissan, Infiniti, and certain Hyundai/Kia models from 2007-2017.
Step 2 – They Get In The Car
The next step is getting into the car. They typically gain entry to the vehicle through relay attacks on keyless entry systems or by breaking windows. The critical step is reaching the OBD port where they can use the glitch machine. That is usually below the dashboard or in the steering column.
Here’s an example of how it works.
Step 3 – They Program a New Key
Using devices like the Autel KM100, the glitchers connect to the vehicle’s CAN (Controller Area Network) bus. Within 30-90 seconds, they can delete all existing keys from the system and program a new key. Some vehicles, particularly Nissan and Infiniti models, allow immediate starting of the engine, while Ford and GM vehicles have built-in delays that ensure the theives cannot start the car right away.
Step 4 – They Speed Off
With a fully functional key, the theives simply speed off. They joy ride the vehicle, but because they have a key, they will often sell the vehicle for thousands of dollars to a buyer.
Should We Go Back To Steering Wheel Locks?
Remember “The Club”? A visible steering wheel lock may actually experience a second life with the emergence of these new technologies that are making auto theft a snap. At $20 bucks, it seems like an easy thing to do.
With a steering wheel lock, car thieves may simply move to the next target.
