As airport car thefts spike, Port Authority warns travelers to be vigilant
NEWARK, N.J. -- There's been a spike in stolen cars parked at airports across the U.S., and now the troubling trend has reached the New York City area.
New data shows car thefts at Port Authority parking lots are spiking by more than 50% this quarter, including 23 cars swiped from the region's airports, versus 15 last year.
"Over the holidays, when more people are traveling, it makes it a juicier target for car theft," Port Authority Chief Security Officer Greg Ehrie said. "Lock your car, no valuables in sight and if you see something, please say something."
It's a problem at airports nationwide. This year, sore than 200 cars have been stolen at Denver's airport and more than 300 at Atlanta's.
"It's a crime that can happen quickly. They can dispose of a car quickly, especially when you're near major cities," Ehrie said. "More often than now, this is not just an opportunity crime. These are advanced rings who are really thinking and focused on certain vehicles."
Crooks tend to go after luxury cars, like a corvette and Lamborghini seized during a raid outside Dallas.
6 New York men plead guilty to rental car scheme
Rental car lots are also getting hit.
Federal prosecutors in St. Louis just announced guilty pleas from eight men, six of whom are from New York, accused of renting and stealing more than $1 million worth of luxury cars using stolen identities.
"They identified 23 real-life victims whose identities had been stolen to steal or attempt to steal these rental cars, using their names to book these reservations," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow.
Ehrie says his team is working to stop those kinds of crimes before they happen.
"Through technology, through intelligence, through proactive policing," he said.
Ehrie also said the most recent numbers he's seen show the number of cars getting stolen is actually dropping due to their proactive security efforts.
Those new numbers are due at the end of the year.
