Can a Thief Intercept the Radio Signal of Your Garage Door Opener?
Transcript from ABC News:
Tonight, new concerns raised by a small device that can help thieves gain easy access to homes. It’s called a code grabber and if you use a remote control to open your garage door, you could be a perfect target. Here’s ABC’s Phillip Mena. Watch this surveillance video of an alleged bandit sneaking into this family’s garage.
“My stomach flipped. I was like, somebody was in our garage.”
Reporter: Moments later, the accused thief riding away with their son’s bike.
“There’s people walking around in the middle of the night, wanting to see what they can get their hands on.”
Reporter: But Devin Durst says it’s not what they stole from him, but how he stole it. Look in the man’s hand. Durst believes that’s a device the thief used to remotely open his garage door. Police haven’t confirmed the claim but are investigating the break-in.
“I mean, there is some kind of a clicker or something. He was even ducking down to come in when it was raising up.”
Reporter: Security experts say they’re devices called code grabbers to intercept the radio signal of your garage door opener. Then while you are gone, they use the code to open the door.
“I don’t think people should be scared. For one thing, I think there is going to be concerted effort in the industry to make this better.”
Reporter: Still experts say it’s wise to upgrade.
“You need to have a newer garage door opener that changes the code every time you use it. That still doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, but it makes it a lot harder.”
