A new trend on the social media platform TikTok has caused an 85 percent increase in Hyundai and Kia car thefts in Los Angeles compared to that of last year, according to the city’s Police Chief Michel Moore.
“I believe it’s influenced by this social media challenge,” Moore told the Los Angeles Police Commission Aug. 30. “And [the] senselessness of that cannot be overstated. It is important … to prevent this that we bring this to the public’s attention.”
These viral videos circulating on TikTok since May show people how to break into Hyundai and Kia vehicles made between 2010 and 2021.
These cars were targeted because they lack an ignition immobilizer system, making them vulnerable to hot-wiring—a method to start a car without a key, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)….