Photo: Kia
The ridiculous Kia challenge originating from a video that went viral online keeps making victims in the United States, as teenagers still find it exciting to steal cars for Internet views.
This is precisely what happened recently in Detroit, where a 2021 Kia Rio was stolen from the front porch by a group of Kia Boys.
Surveillance video shows that the thieves needed only three months to drive away in the car, likely using the same tactic as before. A vehicle pulled up to the front of the car, one of the thieves approached the vehicle, broke a window, jumped inside it, ripped off the steering wheel column, and connected a USB cable to start the engine.
It's that easy, and police say it sometimes takes only 25 seconds for a Kia Boy to drive away in a vulnerable car. Due to the lack of immobilizers, certain Hyundai and Kia models are exposed to this method, with the Kia Boys then able to drive away as if they owned the car.
This time, the victim was already familiar with the Kia Boys and their work, so after filing a police report, she went online to look for channels where teenagers post their adventures in stolen cars. It didn't take long before Nicole Massey discovered a Kia Boys group on Instagram, and minutes later, she found the stolen vehicle on the social media platform.
One of the most recent videos posted by the Kia Boys showed her Rio cruising around the city, so the next she did was jump inside another car to go after the thieves and find the Kia. When she arrived at the area where the vehicle was filmed, she called the police, but the officer who arrived at the scene couldn't locate the thieves. The search continues, but it remains to be seen if the Kia will be found in one piece, as teenagers have made it a hobby to wreak the cars they steal.
This case proves that despite all attempts to deal with the Kia Boys, nothing works, and every Kia and Hyundai on the road – sometimes even if it comes with a push to start or an immobilizer – wears a target on its back. The Kia Boys are continuously looking for new cars to steal, and in some cases, they break into vehicles without checking the model year or the ignition type. They sometimes walk away empty-handed, leaving damage worth thousands of bucks behind.
Kia and Hyundai have already released a software update to prevent the Kia Boys from starting the engines, and the carmakers encourage all customers to install it. Until the anti-theft update is deployed, car owners should install security hardware, such as steering wheel locks and AirTags in the cabin.
Surveillance video shows that the thieves needed only three months to drive away in the car, likely using the same tactic as before. A vehicle pulled up to the front of the car, one of the thieves approached the vehicle, broke a window, jumped inside it, ripped off the steering wheel column, and connected a USB cable to start the engine.
It's that easy, and police say it sometimes takes only 25 seconds for a Kia Boy to drive away in a vulnerable car. Due to the lack of immobilizers, certain Hyundai and Kia models are exposed to this method, with the Kia Boys then able to drive away as if they owned the car.
This time, the victim was already familiar with the Kia Boys and their work, so after filing a police report, she went online to look for channels where teenagers post their adventures in stolen cars. It didn't take long before Nicole Massey discovered a Kia Boys group on Instagram, and minutes later, she found the stolen vehicle on the social media platform.
One of the most recent videos posted by the Kia Boys showed her Rio cruising around the city, so the next she did was jump inside another car to go after the thieves and find the Kia. When she arrived at the area where the vehicle was filmed, she called the police, but the officer who arrived at the scene couldn't locate the thieves. The search continues, but it remains to be seen if the Kia will be found in one piece, as teenagers have made it a hobby to wreak the cars they steal.
This case proves that despite all attempts to deal with the Kia Boys, nothing works, and every Kia and Hyundai on the road – sometimes even if it comes with a push to start or an immobilizer – wears a target on its back. The Kia Boys are continuously looking for new cars to steal, and in some cases, they break into vehicles without checking the model year or the ignition type. They sometimes walk away empty-handed, leaving damage worth thousands of bucks behind.
Kia and Hyundai have already released a software update to prevent the Kia Boys from starting the engines, and the carmakers encourage all customers to install it. Until the anti-theft update is deployed, car owners should install security hardware, such as steering wheel locks and AirTags in the cabin.
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