Police blame TikTok for skyrocketing Hyundai, Kia thefts in US. Here’s their advice

Officers across the country have spent August knee-deep in reports of stolen Hyundai and Kia vehicles — a concerning trend jump-started by a TikTok challenge.

Thieves are using USB cables to hijack certain Hyundai and Kia models between 2010 and 2021, according to a release from the Los Angeles Police Department. Through late August, nearly 20% of all vehicle thefts in the city were Kias and Hyundais.

“The increase is also a nationwide problem and has become a trend on social media platforms,” the Omaha, Nebraska, police department said in a release. “Videos of ‘Kia Boyz’ stealing vehicles and filming themselves driving recklessly, weaving in and out of traffic, and narrowly missing other vehicles are being posted to TikTok and other sites.”

The first video in the “Kia Challenge” was uploaded to TikTok with the tag #kiaboyz on July 12, McClatchy News reported.

In the weeks and months following the circulating trends, videos of tearful Kia and Hyundai owners popped up on TikTok, sharing their stories and shedding light on the impact of the trend.

“My car was just stolen the same way two nights ago,” one woman shared on TikTok. “I’m so devastated.”

“I tow in Columbus,” one commenter said on a Kia Challenge video. “We get police calls 3-4 times a week to impound these recovered stolen (vehicles). It’s insane.”

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Police departments are sharing records of how many vehicles are stolen — sometimes as many as 20 in one weekend — and offering tips for owners to help protect their cars, including the following:

• “Lock your doors”

• “Remove your keys from the vehicle”

• “Do not leave a spare key near your vehicle”

• “Close the windows”

• “Park in well-lit areas”

• “Install an audible alarm system and anti-theft device”

• “Install a vehicle immobilizer system”

• “Install a tracking system”

The Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force in Washington told the community that out of the slew of Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts it responded to, many took place in apartment complexes, several had windows broken and some locked vehicles and alarms prevented successful thefts.

Hyundai and Kia officials are working with local law enforcement departments to provide free steering lock devices to deter theft, KTLA reported.

In the meantime, some Kia and Hyundai owners have filed a lawsuit against the companies, arguing that the vehicles are “too easy to steal,” McClatchy News reported.

“In order to assist customers with earlier model year vehicles without an immobilizer, Hyundai has been working with and will continue to support local police departments to make steering wheel locks available for affected Hyundai owners,” Hyundai told McClatchy News in a previous statement. “Additionally, Hyundai has identified a Firstech/Compustar security kit that targets the method of entry thieves are using to access these vehicles.”

Kia is also working with law enforcement to provide “steering wheel lock devices at no cost to law enforcement in affected areas to deter vandalism and theft,” KTLA reported.

“That effort will continue in close coordination with local police departments for distribution to concerned owners of Kia vehicles not originally equipped with an immobilizer,” Kia told KTLA in a statement.

According to TikTok, videos of people starting cars with USB cables, like in the Kia Challenge, violate company guidelines and are removed, McClatchy News reported.

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