Milwaukee police found Trisha Nguyen 2014 Kia optima after it was stolen last week, they discovered damage inside and out. This was the third time Nguyen says her Kia was stolen from outside her Milwaukee home since 2019.
Thieves, caught on doorbell camera making a quick escape.
“I didn’t even know it was a thing until it was stolen the first time and then after it was stolen the first time, then I found out about ‘Kia boys’.” said Nguyen.
Nguyen even more frustrated this time because she says she installed the anti-theft software upgrade that Kia said would prevent this crime from happening.
“And after that they were all gone and the Kia was gone with it.” she said.
Back in October, the project manager for Kia’s anti-theft program explaining how the software upgrade is supposed to work.
“I was initially told that the car could only start with a key ignition but that’s not the case because they broke the steering column again, and started it with a USB cord.” said Nguyen.
“This software update makes it so that even if they try to plug that USB port in, it’s not going to disable the ignition immobilizer. It’s going to keep that intact and it is going to sound the factory alarm.” said project manager for Kia’s anti-theft program Falecki.
Last week, that same woman saying by phone, part of this upgrade requires Kia owners to lock their cars with a key fob. If you don’t use the key fob to lock your vehicle, the upgrade is useless.
“At this point, I don’t want to invest in Kia or Hyundai at the moment, like, I definitely am looking for a new car.” said Nguyen.
Nguyen is the latest victim of a crime trend we’ve been reporting on for several years.
“Honestly, it happens so often that I think Milwaukee police department, they’re just so used to the police reports at this point.” said Nguyen.
On Friday, Milwaukee police said there were more than 300 hundred vehicles thefts so far this year, and out of those 64 of them have been Kia.
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