Car Trackers and Immobilisers

Car security involves using electronic or physical measures to deter malicious acts, prevent damage, and thwart car theft. Such measures could include the use of immobilisers, trackers, dash cams and other physical deterrents like steering locks and driveway bollards.

There were 130,521 motor vehicle thefts in England and Wales in 2022/23, a significant increase compared to the previous year. Vehicle theft has been on the rise since 2013/14 when 70,000 vehicles were recorded as stolen. The rise in vehicle thefts can be attributed to the growing use of keyless entry and start systems, along with the emergence of new digital theft methods that allow thieves to circumvent factory-installed security features and steal vehicles in mere seconds.

Nearly every car make and model has equal risk, meaning just about any modern vehicle on the road can be stolen as easily as the next, particularly if fitted with keyless technologies. For the past 6-7 years, the Range Rover has consistently been the most stolen vehicle. This is not due to any particular vulnerability in its security (other than it's fitted with keyless technology), but rather because it’s just highly sought-after.

Here we discuss some of the most important things you can do to protect your car against theft.

1. Keyless entry and Start systems.

If your vehicle is fitted with a keyless entry and start system turn it off. Turning the system off will deny thieves the ability to simply pick up and transmit your car key’s signal to gain entry, start and steal your car. Yes, you’ll have to press the unlock button on the fob every time to want to enter the car now but that’s not too difficult, is it?

If your car comes equipped with a keyless entry and start system but you don’t want to or can’t turn it off then you’ll need to be disciplined with your car’s key. Either keep the key in a Faraday pouch or box when you're not using the car or keep the key a good distance away from the car.

When distancing your key away from the car ensure there is no direct line of sight to the car such as through windows and doors as the more obstructions between the key and the car the better. The transceivers thieves use can broadcast deeply into a house to find your key so simply putting your key a good distance away from the car may not always be sufficient. Therefore, I’d highly recommend the use of aftermarket security products such as a tracker and immobiliser system as well as a Faraday pouch to also deny entry to the vehicle.

2. Look for indication your vehicle locked.

Thieves are now using signal jammers to prevent car key fobs from locking cars. Just think, do you even look for an indication that your car even locked, or do you just press the button and walk away? If that’s you, you’re the type of car owner thieves’ prey on.

These types of thefts normally occur in supermarket car parks but could happen anywhere really. Thieves wait for a car of interest to drive by, perhaps they’ll follow to get close to you, once close by they broadcast a jamming signal to prevent your key signal from locking your car. You’ve pressed the button on the fob and walked away but your car didn’t lock as its signal was jammed by the thieves, as you walk away they jump in and proceed to steal your vehicle (normally done via OBD attack or a cloned key), easy as that.

What you should have done and always do is look for an indication from the car that it received the signal and locked. The types of indication we are talking about here are normally indicator flashes, folding of the mirrors or a horn beep. If you’ve pressed the lock button on your car key but you didn't receive any indication the car received that signal then stop, your car’s key signal is likely being jammed. Go back and lock your car manually using the key blade or if your car allows locking by simply touching the door handle do that.

Locking your car by touching the door handle is a good way to prevent this type of theft as it avoids the use of the key’s signal when locking the car and therefore foils jamming attempts.

3. Invest and install additional aftermarket car security.

Unfortunately, it seems nearly every car rolling off the production line now has inadequate or compromised security features fitted. With the rapid development of new digital theft techniques manufacturers haven’t been able to keep up or adapt to the emerging threats. Because of this, car owners up and down the UK have been turning to the aftermarket for car security solutions to combat these issues.

Engine immobilisers – Aftermarket engine immobilisers are becoming ever more vital in the fight against the latest digital theft methods. Modern aftermarket immobilisers are user-friendly passive devices requiring no input from the driver. They work by implementing an additional layer of authorisation for a car's starting procedure by working independently from the car’s factory-fitted security and systems. Aftermarket engine immobilisers are great car security upgrades for the prevention of modern theft techniques such as relay attack and key cloning.

Trackers – The modern car tracker is vital in the recovery efforts of a stolen car, without one attempts to find and recover a car after theft are vanishingly slim. Car insurers often request the fitment of such devices and generally mandate the fitment of Thatcham category S5 trackers to vehicles over £45,000. Thatcham category S5 trackers offer 24/7 theft monitoring and automatic driver recognition as their main features and installation of such a tracker should be on your mandatory to-do list. As part of Thatcham’s security certification, category S5 trackers are insurance-approved products so in most cases are likely to bring your insurance premium down too.

Tracker and immobiliser – This combination is really the minimum I’d recommend to anyone serious about their car security and concerns regarding theft of it. It’s the best of both worlds with the engine immobiliser preventing nearly all attempts of opportunist theft and the tracker there as a backup in the event the car is stolen for whatever reason.

With a tracker fitted but no immobiliser your vehicle can be stolen with relative ease with modern theft techniques. With an immobiliser fitted but no tracker, you're very unlikely to recover the car if it does get stolen for whatever reason or means of doing so.

4. Factory-fitted trackers (a false sense of security).

Don’t subscribe or activate a factory-fitted tracker.

If your new car comes with a subscription to one then fine but I wouldn’t recommend spending any money on one when equipping the car from new, at handover or even if you have a preowned car equipped with one but needing activation. Even if you are already subscribed to the service for whatever reason I’d still recommend having an aftermarket tracker installed.

Why? Because the factory-fitted tracker it’s really a tracking system for real car security purposes. Most are just your ‘connected car’ hardware with a monitoring centre bolted to it then marketed as a factory-fitted tracker. Others, while maybe more of an independent factory-fitted tracker are big bulky outdated hardware easily found by thieves. Manufacturers simply offer factory-fitted trackers and the service as another revenue stream, an expensive one too (compared with aftermarket subscription rates).

The main reason to stay away from these factory-fitted ‘trackers’ though is simply because they're fitted at the factory on a production line. Meaning they are all fitted in the same place (model-specific). For instance, take a Range Rover’s factory-fitted ‘tracker’, marketed as InControl Secure, that tracker is fitted in the same location on every single Range Rover that comes off the production line, hardly secure, is it? If you know where to look on the internet you can easily find the position of the tracker and remove it. That’s exactly what thieves do, nearly every stolen-recovered Range Rover I’ve ever seen had the factory-fitted tracker disabled, but thieves don’t stop there, thieves will also disable all factory-fitted hardware that has the ability to communicate with the outside world including the SOS call system. I’m pretty sure I could get the Range Rovers factory-fitted tracker disabled myself in under 60 seconds.

Interestingly the Range Rover InControl Secure tracker is also category S5 Thatcham and insurance-approved and can be configured as a regular category S7 too. However, such is the ease of factory-fitted tracker disabling and removal that insurers of Range Rovers stopped providing cover even with the activation of Land Rover's own Thatcham and Insurance-approved category S5 tracker (factory-fitted). So, a security product that car insurers endorse is now not acceptable even while being a Thatcham-certified category S5 tracker, why?

Because its factory fitted. Car insurers have learnt the hard way that trackers just can't be factory-fitted, they need to be installed in the aftermarket. They're too easy to find and disable when factory-fitted and insurers have found this out through costly payouts on ‘stolen not recovered’ vehicles. The key to trackers is for them to be installed in secrecy, a process known as security through obscurity, having the whereabouts of your car’s tracker on the internet with detailed documentation of how to access it isn’t very secure or secretive, but that’s the case with factory-fitted tracking systems.

While that covers why you shouldn’t rely on a factory-fitted tracker for your car security there’s also the matter of dealership-fitted trackers.

Dealership-fitted trackers -Depending on the vehicle manufacturer and dealership, they sometimes work with the car security aftermarket and offer customers the fitment of aftermarket trackers in-house at the dealership. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Your new Audi is fitted with an Audi-recommended and supplied aftermarket tracker and is installed by Audi technicians, what’s wrong with that?

Well, their day job isn’t car security installation, it’s the servicing of Audi cars, they’re not professionals in the installation of aftermarket security equipment so you’re unlikely to receive the quality of installation expected from a vehicle security installation professional.

Installation of aftermarket equipment at the dealership means they must also follow strict installation procedures and use connection methods that would otherwise be seen as compromising the covertness of the installation by industry professionals. Dealership technicians also usually follow specifications for the connection and positioning of the tracker provided by the aftermarket supplier, so as with factory-fitted trackers they are likely to be found again in the same locations (model specific).

Therefore, it’s also not recommended you have your tracker installed at the dealership either unless you do your research, ask, and find that a third-party vehicle security installation professional comes into the dealership to perform their installations, this is the case from time to time as most dealership service departments are usually inundated with their own workload.

Conclusion -

To conclude, it’s wise to invest and install some form of aftermarket vehicle security product in your car. With the development of modern digital theft techniques, most modern cars' factory-fitted security features are inadequate leading to an increased risk of car theft. Therefore, it's recommended you turn off your car’s keyless entry system if possible and take measures to secure your car’s key against relay attack and key cloning. You should also be wary of your key’s signal being jammed when locking your vehicle and look for an indication from your car that it received the signal and locked, indicator flash, folded mirror, or horn beep. For peace of mind, theft prevention and recovery capabilities, the installation of an aftermarket tracker and immobiliser is recommended to combat modern digital theft methods but installed by an industry professional, not a dealership unless they use industry professionals to carry out this type of work.

Electronic Security

We would always recommend you consider installing a Thatcham category S5 car tracker and engine immobiliser. Doing so provides excellent protection against modern digital theft methods as well as enabling a professional, police backed response to recovery in the event your vehicle is stolen.

Combining both a Thatcham S5 car tracker and engine immobiliser into one system ideally from the same hardware manufacturer is also recommended over installing both as stand-alone products. Combining the two provides more functionality and makes from a more user friendly system. These combined S5 tracker and immobiliser systems are also able to utilise the communication capabilities of the tracker to control the arming and disarming of the engine immobiliser remotely.

Additionally the fitment of an OBD (On Board Diagnostics) port immobiliser is useful to combat more specialist theft methods that use software to compromise a vehicle’s on board electronic systems. The theft method known as OBD attack sees thieves plug hardware into your vehicle’s OBD port and communicate with your vehicle’s on board electrical systems using sophisticated software. This software can tell your vehicle not to look for certain items needed for authorised engine starting, as such they can circumnavigate many things normally needed for starting of the vehicle and steal it with ease. The installation of an OBD port immobiliser denies thieves easy access to your vehicle’s on board electronic systems through the OBD port, as such modern theft methods such as OBD attack and key cloning can be prevented.

Wireless back-up car tracker. The installation of a secondary tracker for extra security and peace of mind is also a good choice. Using a wireless battery-powered tracker enables the device to be installed in even more covert locations on your vehicle, requiring no hardwiring they can be positioned in locations not normally accessible for hardwired devices such as underneath the vehicle or in behind exterior panels where vehicle wiring is non existent. With it being a secondary back-up tracker it can be used to continue tracking a stolen vehicle if is the main tracker is lost and also provides further resistance to jamming.

Physical deterrents

Installation of a steering lock is the obvious choice, we would recommend the type that fits over the entire wheel as opposed to the bar style normally weaved through it. With the bar style determined thieves will usually carry a battery powered saw to simply cut through the steering wheel to defeat these.

Driveway bollards are another good addition to car security at home. They’ll prevent thieves from simply driving straight of your driveway in the event their able to steal your vehicle for whatever reason. Driveway bollards for car security come in many shapes and configurations, generally you’ll find them as fold-down surface mounted or assisted-manual lift posts. They can also contain smart technologies for automated lifting and lowering with the presence of your vehicle using a motorised mechanism.

While physical car security upgrades do work, its a common theme that they are normally inconvenient and cumbersome. Steering locks for instance need to be locked, unlocked, and then stowed away everytime you want to drive the car. Whilst driveway bollards only provide security when your car is at home and unless you have the budget for an automated system they’ll normnally require the need for manual operation of multiple post everytime you leave enter your driveway.

Therefore we would recommend the installation of a tracker and immobiliser system for car security upgrade purposes. It’s a user-friendly system that arms and disarms the immobiliser automatically without interaction from the driver. It also does this whether your at home, work or even abroad so you’ll also take that security with you wherever you go. Although it must be said that physical deterrents do serve well as visual deterrents by making your car look far less attractive behind driveway bollards or a steering lock.

If your insurer has asked for a car tracker to be fitted to your vehicle, they’ll normally request a Thatcham-approved, professionally monitored tracker. Even if you do not require a car tracker for insurance purposes it’s still advised to install a professionally monitored tracker.

‘Thatcham Approved’ products are products that have been independently tested by Thatcham. The certification provides reassurance around the functionality, design, performance, and compliance (legislative and automotive quality standards). Thatcham has created the compliance criteria for two Categories of Stolen Vehicle Tracking, Category S7, and Category S5.

We explain the difference between the two categories below.

Thatcham Category ‘S7’

Thatcham Category S7 is a type of standalone tracking unit that is used primarily to secure lower-value cars. These trackers provide location data and other important features such as driving behaviour monitoring. They are connected to a monitoring centre that operates 24/7/365 with trained personnel who are alerted when the tracker detects any suspicious activity. If any alerts are generated, the monitoring centre will immediately contact the owner of the vehicle.

Thatcham S7 car trackers usually come with features like vehicle battery disconnection detection and tow-away alerts to prevent any possible sabotage. Furthermore, the tracking unit has an in-built backup battery that enables it to remain operational even when its power supply is removed.

In case of theft, the owner of the vehicle needs to report the incident to the secure control room by phone. The personnel will then liaise with the police to aid in the recovery of the stolen vehicle.

Thatcham Category ‘S5’

Thatcham Category S5 systems are designed for high-value and high-risk vehicles. They consist of a tracking unit and driver recognition technology which provides fast proactive alerts to any unauthorised vehicle movement.

Driver recognition technology is used to confirm that the driver of the vehicle is authorised to do so. In most cases, this is done by using a small battery-powered tag that is usually attached to the vehicle's key or carried by the driver.

When the vehicle's ignition is switched on, the tracking unit scans to find the signal from the tag. If the tag is detected, then the system sees that an authorised driver is present. However, if the tracking device fails to detect the driver recognition tag, an alert will be sent to the monitoring centre where the owner of the vehicle will receive a phone call to check if a theft has taken place. The monitoring team will then liaise with the police on the ground to recover the vehicle quickly.

Compared to S7 systems where you would need to discover and then report the theft, S5 systems alert quickly to any unauthorised use or theft of the vehicle. This fast alerting is the difference between the two systems. With an S7 device, you may not realise the vehicle has been stolen for several hours, whereas S5 systems ensure the fastest response from the monitoring team and the police, increasing the chances of safe recovery of the vehicle.

S5 systems include all functionality associated with an S7 but with the added benefit of driver recognition.

It's important to understand that tracking systems do not prevent vehicle theft, but rather alert you when theft occurs and help with recovery efforts using location data from the device. If you're interested in preventing vehicle theft, consider our combined tracking and immobiliser systems, which include aftermarket engine immobilisers that can help deter theft.

If you’re interested in installing an aftermarket car engine immobiliser or require one for insurance compliance, then look no further. Specialist Trackers UK prides itself on offering the very best car engine immobilisers and combined tracker and immobiliser systems on the market.

As insurers look to further curb the rise in car theft, they too are turning to engine immobilisers. Unlike car trackers, there are not any specific Thatcham/insurance-approved categories for aftermarket immobilisers yet, other than Category 2 although this relates mainly to factory-fitted equipment.

Therefore, for now, it is rather hit-and-miss as to whether insurers have the product you intend to have installed on their approval list. Aftermarket car security companies are working hard to get the insurance companies' lists of accepted products updated as quickly as possible with modern products. It's frustrating but important work as many contain older, inferior, and discontinued car immobilisers that the insurers are recommending to customers even though there are better more modern alternatives on the market.

See below to find information regarding what car engines immobiliser are and how work -

An aftermarket immobiliser is an electronic anti-theft device that prevents the unauthorised starting of a vehicle's engine. While similar in operation to factory-fitted immobilisers, they differ in many areas.

First, aftermarket immobilisers work independently of your factory-fitted systems, which means they are not influenced or disarmed by the presence of your vehicle's key or its signal. With many modern theft methods exploiting the vulnerabilities of keyless entry and start systems, this feature is crucial as it makes them effective at preventing digital theft methods such as relay attack and key cloning.

Second, when paired with a tracker, many modern immobilisers can utilise over-the-air communications, which enables remote immobilisation of the vehicle's engine. You can find these products and more information on them here - Combined Tracker and Immobilisers.

Third, most car engine immobilisers are passive systems that arm and disarm automatically without any input from the driver. This is achieved through proximity and communication of an ID tag. Unlike the factory vehicle key, the ID tag uses a different technology for communication, which makes it less vulnerable to signal relaying due to its security architecture. The increased theft rate of modern vehicles fitted with keyless entry/start systems is due to the vulnerability of the factory vehicle key's signal, which can be easily relayed to the vehicle at a distance.

Finally, aftermarket immobilisers are currently superior to factory-fitted car immobilisers for vehicles fitted with keyless entry/start systems. Factory-fitted immobilisers can be disabled in as little as 30 seconds, making them vulnerable to modern digital theft methods such as 'relay attack'.

If you're looking to increase your vehicle's security, the aftermarket now offers many systems that are far superior to anything fitted at the factory. Unfortunately, vehicle manufacturers are lagging behind the advances and threats made in vehicle theft techniques. As a result, vehicle owners are turning to the aftermarket for new advances in vehicle security products and technologies to secure their vehicles against theft.

If you want to upgrade your car's security, then a combined car tracker and immobiliser system is the most effective way to do it. Even car insurers are now requiring their customers to have both a car tracker and an engine immobiliser installed. These combined systems have been popular in the aftermarket for some time, as they offer a great solution to combat car theft and enable recovery capabilities. The aftermarket car security installers have been fitting these combined systems for years to fight modern theft methods.

If you are a potential customer for car security, I would recommend a combined tracker and immobiliser system as the minimum amount of security needed for effective protection against modern theft techniques. This is because modern vehicles with keyless entry/start technologies can easily be stolen, this applies even to older turnkey-style technologies. Thieves can steal a modern car in as little as 30 seconds using modern theft methods such as relay attack, OBD attack and key cloning.

While other types of car security such as trackers are crucial in the recovery of a stolen car, they do not prevent theft. A car fitted with any type of tracker can still be stolen using modern theft methods and provides no increase in a car’s security or theft prevention other than the capability of potentially alerting to the theft attempt and providing positioning data for its hopeful recovery. Therefore, I recommend fitting an aftermarket car immobiliser, but pair it with a tracker. This combination is effective at preventing keyless theft because the immobiliser works independently from your vehicle’s factory security systems and is not disarmed via the factory remote/vehicle key.

A combined tracker and immobiliser system is a car security package that usually includes a category S5 tracker and an engine immobiliser. The engine immobiliser is automatically armed and disarmed using the proximity of an ID tag.

Having a combined tracker and immobiliser system installed in your car is crucial to protect against modern keyless theft techniques such as relay attack, OBD attack and key cloning. The most important feature of this system is the engine immobiliser, which automatically arms and disarms, ensuring that your car is always immobilised when not in use. This helps to prevent the exploitation of keyless entry and start technology and protects your car from many of the modern theft methods.

Most of these systems do not require any input from the driver of the car, they are passive systems. This means that the immobilisation of your car's engine is done automatically, often through the proximity of an ID tag, making it easy for car owners to use day to day.

When it comes to electronic or physical car security upgrades, comparing their ease of use, cost, range of use, and effectiveness is a good place to start.

All in all, electronic car security products normally win out in nearly all aspects other than cost. Although deterrents such as driveway bollards can be considerably more expensive than any electronic security system available in the aftermarket.

Electronic car security systems such as trackers and immobilisers offer customers real benefits in terms of theft prevention. These electronic systems are simple to use, are reasonably priced and follow you around wherever you go. Their also very good at preventing car theft by modern theft techniques.

Physical car security deterrents such as steering wheel locks and driveway bollards offer customers very good visual deterrence to potential thieves, something that electronic car security systems lack by their very nature as they are intended to be secretive. Steering locks and driveway bollards can deter thieves from even having a go and stealing your vehicle whilst electronic security may invite thieves to at least cause some damage before ending their efforts due to a non-staring engine for instance. Whilst physical deterrents for car security have their advantages they have their disadvantages too, steering locks are cumbersome to operate, move and stow away, whilst driveway bollards need constant manual operation. Driveway bollards also only provide any security increase whilst your vehicle is at home so doesn’t do anything for car security once you leave your driveway.

In conclusion, there’s no harm in mixing electronic and physical deterrents for improved car security but it’s advised to install your electronic car security first. Due to the nature of electronic security installation with it intended to be installed professionally and covertly, it's not advised to display any stickers or the like to advertise the fact to would-be thieves that you have for instance, a tracker or immobiliser fitted to the car. Instead of thieves being in the dark as to what might potentially be fitted to the car, if you display anything to tell them you have those systems fitted then they will almost certainly look for and try to remove them. Not displaying or advertising this would keep thieves guessing as to whether they’d be wasting their time even trying to steal your car if it potentially might have such systems fitted.

With that being said, a car not displaying any indication of any aftermarket security upgrade may seem attractive to thieves, this is where physical deterrents such as steering wheel locks, driveway bollards, and even dash cams could be used.

Its simple!

1. Select the product you wish to have installed and either add it to your bag or go straight ahead and purchase it.

2. Once purchased Specialised Trackers UK will contact you that same day to arrange a date and time for your installation.

3. Once your product has been installed you will automatically receive your ‘proof of installation certificate’ via email. This is the important bit your insurer will be wanting from you to prove the product has been fitted.

4. Your all set and now insurance compliant.