Have a car with a push-to-start ignition? Here's how it could end up stolen and overseas

Cars stolen from Ontario and Quebec are openly being advertised and sold in West African countries, including Nigeria and Ghana, according to a Marketplace investigation, which also found thieves are targeting vehicles with push-to-start ignitions. 

Stolen vehicles are being shipped overseas by thieves so audacious, they leave behind takeout containers, identifiable bumper stickers and even licence plates.

Experts say that car companies prioritizing convenience over security with those push-to-start ignitions allow thieves to quickly and easily steal vehicles to ship overseas, where demand for Canadian cars is high because of their reliability and the availability of parts, and the consequences for thieves are low. 

"It's low risk, high reward," said Det. Greg O'Connor of the Peel police auto crime unit, who told Marketplace this type of car theft has a low overhead cost and takes little time. Cars can be loaded onto shipping containers and be en route within hours, he said.

Police in Peel Region, west of Toronto, say that 80 to 85 per cent of stolen vehicles are tied to organized crime and destined to be shipped overseas, many to West Africa.

Other stolen vehicles can be given a new, fake vehicle identification number (VIN) and resold within Canada, or used to transfer drugs, guns or for human trafficking.

"This isn't a victimless crime," said O'Connor. 

Marketplace was able to find stolen Canadian vehicles in Ghana and Nigeria. On the website Jiji, an online marketplace similar to Kijiji, vehicles that are foreign-owned are heavily advertised, and the cars can sell for nearly double the cost they would go for in Canada. A 2018 Lexus RX 350 was listed for sale for 28,000,000 Naira, or about $85,000 Cdn. That same vehicle with similar mileage has a market price of around $48,000 on Autotrader.ca.

Some sellers don't even remove Ontario licence plates or Canadian dealership stickers. One image from Ghana in 2017 shows cars with Ontario licence plates advertised along the main road. In February, researchers were able to find a 2018 Lexus RX 350 on a used car lot in Lagos, Nigeria. The vehicle had undergone a safety inspection in Niagara Region, in southern Ontario, in August 2021. CBC cannot confirm when it was stolen.

You've likely heard of the "relay attack," in which a device is used to capture the signal of a car key fob that is inside a house and then amplified to open car doors. But experts say there's a cheaper — and easier — solution thieves are turning to: lock picks. These tools are available for under $60 on online marketplaces.

Once inside the car, thieves typically plug a key programmer — available for under $1,000 online — into the car's On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port, usually located under the steering wheel where mechanics can plug in a diagnostic tool to the car's computer. Using this port, thieves can program a blank key fob to match the vehicle. It can be done on nearly any vehicle with a push-to-start ignition. Vehicles with physical keys require a separate tool to clone the key. 

WATCH | Locksmith shows how thieves steal vehicles:

It's an issue locksmith and founder of Hamilton's Auto Key Pro Yaser Jafar says needs more regulation.

"Anyone can buy these tools and do whatever they want," he told Marketplace. "When it's in the wrong hands, and if they have a little experience, or if they learn it, very quickly they can easily steal any car that they want."