Three anti-crime organizations have requested YouTube to take down all movies that train folks steal Kia and Hyundai cars. The organizations – the Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau (NICB), the Coalition Towards Insurance coverage Fraud, and the Worldwide Affiliation of Particular Investigation Items (IASIU) – made their request in response to a spike in thefts of those automobiles.
The Freeway Loss Knowledge Institute (HLDI) late final yr reported that bargain-priced Kia and Hyundai automobiles have been being focused for theft at charges much like muscle automobiles and SUVs, based mostly on an evaluation of 2021 insurance coverage claims. The spike is due, partially, to the truth that the fashions being stolen don’t have digital immoblizers that cease thieves from bypassing the ignition.
Some thieves have even made educational movies – shared on platforms like YouTube and TikTok – on carry out the theft process utilizing only a screwdriver and a USB cable. Since these movies began showing on social media, police departments throughout the U.S. have reported drastic will increase in Kia and Hyundai thefts.
In Chicago, for instance, the place solely 328 Kias have been stolen in 2021, greater than 3,500 have been stolen final yr, CBS Chicago reported.
“On a regular basis customers are being victimized by criminals utilizing social media platforms to study their latest unlawful tips and strategies,” stated David Glawe, president and CEO of the NICB. “Some platforms are usually not doing sufficient to guard harmless victims from pointless hurt.”
Celeste Dodson, president of IASIU, added, “When a automobile is stolen, it’s usually not the top of the crime however the starting. Car thefts are related to a large number of legal exercise, together with insurance coverage fraud. The price of these crimes is then handed on to customers by way of larger premiums.”
Personal-passenger auto insurance coverage premium charges are experiencing upward stress as a consequence of quite a lot of components, together with:
- Rising insurer losses as a consequence of rising accident frequency and severity;
- Extra fatalities and accidents on the street, resulting in elevated lawyer involvement in claims;
- Persevering with supply-chain points, resulting in rising prices for automobiles, alternative elements, and labor; and
- Extra pricey auto repairs as a consequence of safer, extra technologically subtle automobiles.
Thefts of automobiles or elements like catalytic converters solely enhance that stress to boost charges.
The one option to flip that stress down is to scale back claims and losses by decreasing accidents and thefts. Making it tougher for folks to discover ways to break the regulation and trigger injury by watching on-line movies can be a small however wanted step in that route.
