It used to be a screwdriver, or Hollywood movies are to be believed a coat-hanger, but now technologically advanced car thieves are using souped-up Game Boy devices to help them break into cars.

According to the AA the retro gaming devices are being sold by a company in Bulgaria, with the software altered in what is being described as ‘the most advanced locksmith tool’ on the market.

The devices can be bought for £20,000 but that price is likely to come down as the technology becomes more readily available. The Game Boy style devices are the latest version of relay tech crime, which allow a car thief to enter your vehicle without breaking any windows. The gadget records the car’s data and then acts as a responder which the vehicle recognises as your actual remote fob. The car technology is then duped into believing that the actual fob is being used and can be unlocked and the engine started. Relay devices are said to be behind a 50 per cent rise in car thefts over the last six years.

“As fast as car technology evolves, criminals are working just as hard to cheat these systems,” said Jack Cousens of the AA.

“What is most worrying is that something sold decades ago has been repurposed to help thieves. With plenty of old gadgets collecting dust, some will tinker with them in the hope they can unlock a car.

“Thieves have levelled up from playing Grand Theft Auto on a console to using the console to commit Grand Theft Auto.”

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