Thieves use Bluetooth phones to target cars with laptops in them

Thieves in Cambridge, England are using the "detect nearby Bluetooth devices" feature in their mobile phones to figure out which cars have laptops locked in them so that they know which cars to break into.

But thieves in Cambridge have cottoned on to an alternative use for the function, using it as a scanner which will let them know if another Bluetooth device is locked in a car boot.

Det Sgt Al Funge, from Cambridge's crime investigation unit, said: "There have been a number of instances of this new technology being used to identify cars which have valuable electronics, including laptops, inside.

Link (via Waxy)

Update: A number of you have written in to say that this is implausible, given that laptops don't transmit their Bluetooth ID when they're shut up in a car trunk. I agree -- this is fishy.

I've called the Cambridge policeman, Al Funge, quoted in the piece, but he's on holiday until Sept 5. His colleague says that he doesn't know where Funge got the information that thieves had successfully used this measure to locate laptops locked up in Cambridge car-trunks.

I've also just spoken to the Cambridge Evening News -- the newspaper that published this -- and asked if they have any more info; they've promised to get back to me about it. I'll post here when they do.

Update 2: Bruce Schneier sez, "I don't think it's fishy. Read the comments from my blog posts. Some Bluetooth devices can work even when turned off."