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In the past two years, car thefts have skyrocketed in many U.S. cities, driven by a trend targeting Kias and Hyundais.

In Chicago, 80 cars on average were stolen every day last year. In Minneapolis, a woman’s car was reportedly targeted three times in six months. But just across the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minn., a very different story is playing out.

Thefts began to balloon nationwide in the summer of 2022, after a TikTok video exposed a security vulnerability in certain models of Kia and Hyundai cars that made them easier to steal. Asher says the original video was up for only a few weeks, but that was enough time for it to spread.

And there was an increase in motivation. The videos became a challenge, especially among teenagers, to steal cars and then upload their own videos to social media. Some people would even time themselves to show how fast they could do it.

Nationwide, auto thefts have more than doubled since 2019, according to newly released CCJ numbers looking at 34 cities. Last year alone, car thefts rose nearly 30%.

It has gotten so bad that 18 state attorneys general sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urging a recall of the affected cars.