Watch CBS News

Residents On Edge After Several Vehicle Break-Ins Using Electronic Device In Gold Coast

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Suzy Checho found a mess inside her SUV in the Gold Coast this week, and she said she has a good idea how the thief got in -- with a device that mimics key FOBs. She claims others on the street were hit, too.

Video shows a person walking down the Gold Coast street and getting into her SUV without a key.

"They broke the glove box," she said. "I can't close it again properly. Everything was here. All my insurance papers."

Surveillance video shows her white SUV parked as a man walks along a row of cars in the Gold Coast.

"With a device in his hand and some cars were lighting up and unlocking with this device," Checho said. "Mine lit up he came back around went inside and rummaged through everything the glove box, the console."

Checho said after the car light turned on and unlocked the man walked away and then returned to finish the job a short time later.

"He sat in there for three or four minutes," she said.

He then leaves with a handful of her belongings.

"It just feels like it is a violation," she said. "It's like open season on any car with these devices."

While Checho is hoping somebody might recognize the person who went through her car, she said others on the block were also targeted.

"Then we saw a bunch of other items all over the sidewalk clearly other cars were rummaged through," she said. "There are no repercussions for people who do this."

Checho is telling her story not because she lost some big ticket item; she didn't. She just wants others to be aware.

No arrests have been made.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.