Shortly After Couple’s Test Drives, the Vehicles Vanished
Car dealerships across three states were targeted in an alleged theft scheme in which suspects posed as customers, requested test drives, and then secretly swapped or copied vehicle key fobs—sometimes in under a minute.
Police in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, say a man and a woman spent more than a year visiting dealerships while pretending to shop for luxury pickup trucks and other high-end vehicles. According to investigators, the man would ask to start a vehicle and then either replace the real key fob with a fake one or hand it to the woman. She allegedly used a handheld device to clone the fob’s data in seconds, the New York Times reports.
In many cases, the vehicles that were test-driven were later stolen—or an attempt was made to steal them—sometimes as soon as the following day.
Authorities say at least 20 vehicles, valued at more than $2.4 million, were stolen or targeted at dealerships in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The Old Saybrook investigation began after two GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate trucks, worth a combined $177,210, vanished from a local dealership in February 2025—just two days after the couple had looked at them. Notably, the dealership still had the original key fobs, according to CT Insider.
Investigators later linked similar incidents to other dealerships, including a Ford lot in Glastonbury, Connecticut, and a case in Keyport, New Jersey.
An expert with the National Insurance Crime Bureau told investigators that key fob clones can be created in less than 60 seconds by connecting a device to a vehicle’s diagnostic port.
Authorities have charged 37-year-old Tiffine Kyte of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with larceny and conspiracy in connection with the scheme. She was arrested in New Jersey, extradited to Connecticut on Jan. 15, and later released on bonds totaling $375,000 across two cases, according to court records. Detectives say cellphone data places Kyte near multiple theft locations in all three states.
The male suspect has not been formally identified. He allegedly used the name “Dexter” and wore a UPS uniform during some dealership visits, according to CT Insider.
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