Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown to distribute free faraday bags to combat “Relay Attack” auto theft in Brampton

Thousands of car owners will receive free faraday bags in five separate areas of the city of Brampton, which may prevent auto thieves from using a radio frequency that radiates from key FOBs to steal vehicles According to a proposal by Mayor Patrick Brown.

A Faraday case is a signal-blocking tool that’s relatively inexpensive and can help prevent cars from being stolen in what’s known as a relay attack.

Brown says this is a Band-Aid solution to protect his residents while officials push for change at the national level. I don’t want to wait. I want to do something immediately to radically decrease the auto thefts that are happening to my community”.

Peel police reported a 92 percent rise in auto thefts in 2022 compared to 2019. Brown says in a “relay attack,” car thieves use the vulnerability of key FOBs to unlock and start vehicles in under 60 seconds before creating new key FOBs for stolen vehicles with diagnostic equipment.

“All these cars that are being stolen are enhancing organized crime in Canada. That’s a bigger problem,” Brown said.

The hope is that the use of faraday bags will help limit the prevalence of that sort of theft.

“A Faraday bag is a $6 item that can protect a $60,000 car from being stolen in less than 60 seconds,” Brown said in a news release.

Brown says Brampton will gauge the impact of auto thefts and if there’s a sharp decline they will expand the pilot program to other areas.

The proposed pilot project is expected to go to city council as a whole for final approval on Feb. 8.