Car thefts spiked in 2020, then continued to climb for the past three years. Free time during the COVID-19 quarantine may have been a major factor. But another factor was an increasingly common new car theft tactic called a “relay attack.” If you only have time to learn one thing about a relay attack, know that it can be foiled by deactivating your keyless entry feature. That’s right, if you must click a button on your key fob to unlock the doors a regular old relay attack won’t work.

So what in the world is a relay attack? It simply is a high tech way to “relay” the signal from a key fob to a car. One thief usually runs up to your house’s front door and holds up a big wire antenna. If your key fob is near the door, an electronic device can broadcast its signal to your driveway or beyond.

Meanwhile, a second thief waits by the car with a similar device that repeats the signal. If your car has keyless entry and keyless engine start enabled, they may be able to just get in and fire it up. By the time the sound wakes you up, your own tail lights are disappearing into the distance.

As car theft numbers spiked for several years, luxury car owners eventually got wise. Many went into their vehicle’s infotainment menus and completely disabled wireless entry. If you muist click a button on the key fob to tell the car to unlock, thieves can’t pick up said signal from outside your house’s front door.

Some automakers don’t allow you to disable keyless entry if you’ve opted for this luxurious feature. Owners of these cars must get more creative. Many have ordered an RFID-blocking pouch or box to store their main key fobs and spare key fobs. In a pinch, you can also store your key fob in a metal tin or wrap it in aluminum foil to severely limit its signal.

Do thieves have other ways to get into a car with keyless entry disabled? Absolutely. There are old school methods such as breaking a window or popping open a lock. But they will set off an alarm. There are new methods such as hacking the car with a laptop, essentially convincing it a phone with an authorized key-replacement app is nearby. This method has some owners completely rewiring their car’s OBD ports. But few thieves have this much expertise. Disabling keyless entry is a great place to start if you want to keep your car safer.