Shortly After Couple’s Test Drives, the Vehicles Vanished
A key fob is shown in a vehicle's ignition system. (Getty Images/Tarik Seker)
Car dealerships across three states were hit by a sophisticated theft scheme in which suspects posed as customers requesting test drives, then secretly swapped or cloned vehicle key fobs in under a minute.
Police in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, say a man and woman spent more than a year visiting dealerships while pretending to shop for luxury pickup trucks and other high-end vehicles. During the visits, the man would ask to start a vehicle and either replace the real key fob with a fake or pass it to the woman. Investigators allege the woman used a handheld device to copy the fob’s data in seconds, according to reporting by the New York Times. The vehicles were later stolen—or thefts were attempted—sometimes as soon as the next 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 case began after two GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate trucks, worth a combined $177,210, disappeared from a local dealership in February 2025—just two days after the couple had examined them, according to CT Insider. In that incident, the dealership still had the original key fobs. Investigators later linked similar cases to other dealerships, including a Ford lot in Glastonbury, Connecticut, and an incident in Keyport, New Jersey.
A specialist from the National Insurance Crime Bureau told investigators that key fob clones can be created in under 60 seconds by plugging a device into a vehicle’s diagnostic port. Authorities have charged 37-year-old Tiffine Kyte of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with larceny and conspiracy related to the scheme. She was arrested in New Jersey, extradited to Connecticut on January 15, and later released on bonds totaling $375,000 in two separate cases, court records show. Detectives say cellphone data places Kyte near multiple theft locations across the three states.
The male suspect has not been identified. He reportedly used the name “Dexter” and was seen wearing a UPS uniform, according to CT Insider.
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