MESA — A familiar and troubling social media challenge has police in one Valley city sounding the alarm.
The TikTok challenge involves thieves targeting certain types of cars to steal. Officers with the Mesa Police Department are reporting a big uptick.
All across the country, and even here in the Valley, police are finding car thieves taking advantage of something they learned online.
"They are going around to play bumper cars with these stolen cars. They are going to neighborhoods to victimize other people. They are breaking into houses and breaking into other vehicles," said Mesa PD Sergeant Kevin Bailey.
Sgt. Bailey says it is part of a dangerous TikTok challenge resurfacing in his city.
The challenge encourages thieves to target various makes and models of 2010-2021 Kias and Hyundais and shows how they can start those vehicles without a key.
"I love the Kia! I absolutely love my Kia,” said Reuben Elias. He is aware of the trend, and so are a lot of others.
"They are all over the place and people are stealing them,” added Elias.
In fact, in April and May, the sergeant says officers working in Mesa's Superstition division opened more than 30 car theft investigations for Hyundais and Kias.
"That's a significant number. That's a big increase, for us, and that is why reaching out to the public to help reduce those numbers,” said Sgt. Bailey.
The Superstition division stretches 73 square miles.
A few miles outside that area is where Elias lives and keeps his 2017 Kia.
"If I have my car stolen, it would be horrible. I would not be able to do anything,” said Elias.
Thieves have never taken his car. But, to be safe, Elias took his car in as suggested by the automaker to make fixes as a result of the social media challenge.
"You just take it to the dealer and tell them you need the update done and they take care of it,” said Elias.
The problem is getting so bad, attorneys general in nearly two dozen states urged the federal government to take action.
"This is a team effort," added Sgt. Bailey. "We are doing the investigation portion of it. But, we need the community to come forward and get these cars serviced and get the software update."
Investigators also recommend putting an alarm on your car with a tracker or immobilizer, or consider using a steering wheel lock.
