Did you know thieves can hack your car keys?

High-tech car keys add a greater level of convenience to drivers' routines, but Cincinnati police Sgt. Eric Franz said they can also make life easier for thieves. Like everything else digital, your electronic car keys -- whether they unlock with a button-press from a distance or automatically within close range -- are vulnerable to hackers. "Thieves are getting sneakier," said Steve Ginn, treasurer of the Sturbridge Homeowners Association.  The New York Times agreed -- in April 2015, writer Nick Bilton chronicled a saga that involved his car being broken into three times without any visible signs of forced entry. A pair of teens with a small black box had been able to simply ride up, open his locked car doors and search for prizes inside.  The box, experts said, was a device called an amplifier that magnifies the radio signal sent out by keyless car systems. If the key is anywhere nearby -- say, in one's home -- the signal can be amplified to such a degree that it is strong enough to unlock a car parked on the street. "(Car key remote controls) use a radio wave signal, and they're stealing that with a receiver pack," Franz said. "They steal that signal, they come back later, press a key on their computer (and) it opens your car." Fobs also place cars in jeopardy, he said. Just like remote controls, they work through signals that can be intercepted and replicated. The solution? Just use a physical key, Franz said. It may require more physical fumbling and juggling of groceries on the way to the car, but if no signal is transmitted, no signal can be stolen.