Another thing to mention is with these cases the owners have had wranglings with their insurance firms who get very iffy in cases like this. They may take the view that you have provided them with the key when in fact you've asked for it back and seemingly received it back. In my view its no different to breaking into someones house at 3am and nicking the car key off the kitchen counter and driving the car away.

This scam was shown on the BBC Real Hustle a while ago. Nice of them to show regulars scamsters how to actually get away with it!

I heard of a brilliant one recently where the owner of a classic 911 was alerted to a possible scumbag in the area, he'd been seen scanning garages and driveways from his van for a few days. The guy had seen the Porsche and the owner was very suspicious. Later that night the key for the 911 was left on the windowsill, the garage was left unlocked which may sound careless but imagine the thief's surprise when he discovered the owner had taken the engine out....

I have my keys on a keyring with other keys. Impossible to remove quickly and no chance of a switch.

Not totally impossible, these people spend days on end practicing changing keys over at the speed of light but if they dont get the opportunity they dont push it they just move on to the next car and try their luck again. Of course its more difficult for them if you give them keys on a distinctive keyring or something but most people remove the key from their normal keys and leave it on its own.

This scam was shown on the BBC Real Hustle a while ago. Nice of them to show regulars scamsters how to actually get away with it!

And they say the BBC doesnt provide a quality public service anymore?

I have my car key just on a black leather keyring with a solid silver Jaguar's head growling.

Could be the best £24.99 you ever spend!*

* Yes i know thats a ridiculous amount to spend on a keyring, and that was half price, my old Peugeot one was a £2.39 jobby off Ebay.

Edited by jamie745 on 12/11/2011 at 21:44