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Parts of the plot in "Gone in 60 Seconds" might be nonsensical and about as over-the-top as it gets, but the title is a bit telling. High-tech thieves, operating a car theft operation in several states, actually have a method to steal cars in less than a minute without keys, breaking windows, or hot wiring. Instead, they use an electronic device akin to an OBD-II scanner from Autel, interfacing with the vehicle's computer to program a blank key fob.

This information was made available when Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, publicly announced a 15-count federal indictment of the thieves (via KATV ). These crews operated in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., stealing a wide variety of vehicles to sell on international black markets.…