Baltimore County Police give away hundreds of wheel locks to prevent TikTok-trend auto thefts
RANDALLSTOWN, Md.-- Baltimore County Police distributed hundreds of steering wheel locks to Hyundai and Kia drivers Friday morning at the Randallstown precinct.
New County Police Chief Robert McCullough handed out some of the wheel locks and urged drivers of affected models to contact their car dealers for software upgrades to try to prevent their vehicles from being stolen.
Certain models of Hyundai and Kia vehicles have been targeted by auto thieves in recent months following a series of social media videos showing how easy they are to start without a traditional key.
"I see on the news everybody is taking these Hyundais. I have a Hyundai. So, I would like to be able to protect my car," Erwin Gingles said. "I'm very concerned because people today are just taking cars and inconveniencing motorists, and it's just not fair to no one. So, if I can protect myself and other people can be protected, that's a good thing."
Baltimore County Police revealed data last week that showed a 933% increase in stolen Hyundais in 2023 compared to last year to date. Stolen Kias are up 433%, data shows.
"I mean, this is an easy one. It spread like wildfire on social media and, since then, it's just word of mouth. The secret's up. These cars are easy to take," Sgt. Steven Sunderland of the Baltimore Regional Auto Theft Team said. "It's everywhere—and, it's nationwide. It's not just local to Baltimore."
The steering wheel lock distribution comes a day after Maryland's Attorney General Anthony Brown signed a letter with 17 other attorneys general calling on a nationwide recall of the affected cars.
