Relay Car Theft: What the Data Actually Shows

A reference page for anyone writing or reading about keyless (relay) car theft. Every figure below is attributed to the organisation that published it and linked so you can check it. We sell signal-blocking pouches, so treat us as an interested party — that's exactly why we've sourced this to independent bodies rather than our own claims, and why the last section explains when you probably don't need what we sell.

How a Relay Attack Works

Keyless-entry cars constantly listen for their key fob. In a relay attack two people work together: one stands near the house holding a device that picks up the fob's signal (through a wall, door or window), the second stands by the car with a device that re-broadcasts it. The car "sees" its key nearby, unlocks, and in most cases starts. No window is broken and no alarm sounds — which is why relay theft is quiet and fast.

The attack needs the fob's signal to reach the relay device. Anything that fully encloses the fob in conductive material — a shielding pouch or box, or per ADAC's own advice a metal tin — breaks that chain.

The Data: What Independent Testing Shows

ADAC (Germany's automobile club) — vehicle testing

ADAC has run the largest published programme of hands-on keyless-security testing. Their findings, published on adac.de:

  • Over 800 keyless-equipped vehicles tested.
  • Only about 15% were better protected against relay equipment — the large majority could be opened and driven away with signal-extension gear.
  • Ultra-Wideband (UWB) resisted their equipment. ADAC reports that with UWB-based systems "the car then no longer responds" to their relay setup. Jaguar Land Rover implemented it from 2018, with Audi, Volkswagen, Škoda and Cupra among those following.
  • ADAC's own recommendation is to keep the fob away from exterior doors, walls and windows, and to store it in a metal tin, a shielding case, or wrapped in aluminium foil — then test it by trying to unlock the car from about a metre away.

NICB (US National Insurance Crime Bureau) — theft volume

For scale in the US market, NICB's published 2025 figures (reports & statistics, nicb.org):

  • 659,880 vehicles reported stolen nationwide in 2025 — a 23% decrease versus 2024, and the lowest level in decades.
  • Most-stolen models: Hyundai Elantra (21,732) and Honda Accord (17,797).
  • California reported the most thefts of any state at 136,988.

Note on interpretation: overall vehicle theft is falling. We're not going to dress that up as a crisis — the honest framing is that total thefts are down while the method mix keeps shifting toward electronic entry on keyless cars. If you want current numbers, NICB republishes them annually at the link above.

When You Probably Don't Need a Faraday Pouch

This is the part most sellers leave out. Based on ADAC's testing:

  • If your car uses UWB keyless entry, relay attacks did not work on it in ADAC's tests. Check your manufacturer's spec — if you have it, a pouch adds little against this specific attack.
  • If your fob has a motion sensor that powers it down when it's been still for a while, you have partial protection — though ADAC notes the car remains stealable while the fob is still active.
  • If you can simply keep the fob far from exterior walls and windows, that alone raises the difficulty, at zero cost.

A shielding pouch is the answer when none of those apply, or when you want the fob shielded wherever you happen to put it down.

Test Any Solution Yourself (30 Seconds)

This works for a pouch, a tin, or foil — and it's the same test ADAC recommends:

  1. Seal the fob fully inside whatever you're testing.
  2. Stand about a metre from the car.
  3. Try to unlock it, and try the handle.
  4. No response = the shielding is working. Any response = it isn't sealed, or the material isn't conductive enough.

Re-test occasionally: seals wear, and foil tears.

Using This Page

Journalists, bloggers and club editors are welcome to cite these figures — please credit the original organisations (ADAC, NICB) and link to their pages above. If you'd like to link here as a plain-English summary of how relay theft works and how to test a fix, that's welcome too.

Related Reading

What actually stops relay theft · Does your car have UWB? · Relay attack (glossary) · Faraday pouches & boxes for car keys · RFID skimming: what the data shows · How we write & what we don't claim