The Minnesota Commerce Department’s Fraud Bureau is launching a public awareness campaign to reduce the number of car thefts caused by people leaving their keys inside their vehicles.
“Take Your Keys ALWAYS” is the theme of the new initiative, and Assistant Commissioner of Enforcement Jacqueline Olson says it’s a simple concept, but one that can save your car and your time.
“This campaign has been developed through the Commerce Fraud Bureau’s collaboration with local law enforcement to tackle auto theft,” Olson said.
When it comes to people leaving their keys in their car, Olson says sometimes it’s as much as the car’s engine being on and the key in the ignition left unattended.
“It could be a key in the ignition. It could also be one of those keys that just has a push start engine, that they’re leaving in their car,” Olson said.
More than 16,000 vehicles were stolen in Minnesota last year alone. Overall the department shared that the number of stolen cars represents $200 million in losses to victims.
Olson says the insurance implications affect everyone in the form of higher premiums.
“Even if you’re not the victim, you’re not the person whose car got stolen. You’re going to be impacted by the rising premium costs insurers are doing to accommodate or to make up for all the stolen car claims that are coming into the insurance companies,” Olson said.
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