A car dealership in Toronto is employing a security system that prevents theft of its luxury, high-priced cars by alerting office management when a key has not been returned following its removal from a secure case at the dealership.
Thefts from the dealership were both at night, when the business was closed, and during the day while it was still open, according to Anoop Sharma, president of AVS Key and Inventory Solutions, which provided the RFID-based anti-theft system. Typically, Sharma says, members of organized crime target a specific type of vehicle, such as a Lexus or BMW. When returning a vehicle's key after a test drive, a potential thief takes that key and replaces it with a counterfeit one. Then, using the authentic key, the criminal can steal the car--often in the middle of the day--and drive it onto a truck, thereby quickly removing the vehicle from view. "This is a problem across North America," Sharma says.
Source: RFID Journal, http://www.rfidjournal.com