WATCH: Shocking wave of car crime sweeping Britain revealed by the criminals themselves
A WAVE of car crime is sweeping Britain's streets and a shocking new television programme shows the criminals themselves revealing the tricks of the trade.
By Sarah Ann Harris
18:54, Tue, Aug 12, 2014
Car theft criminals have revealed their techniques in a new programme [GETTY]
A particularly concerning new scam, which Express.co.uk warned readers about earlier this month, is the use of electronic "jammers" to unlock cars.
Crooks loiter by a vehicle waiting for a motorist to attempt to lock it.
But they use a device, known as a jammer, to block the signal from the key fob to the vehicles' central locking system.
This leaves the doors unlocked and when the owner has walked away the thieves are free to go up to the car and open it without the alarm going off.
A new Channel 5 programme, Grand Theft Auto: UK, shows Romanian migrant Mikki in action using such a device.
He demonstrates on camera how he uses the sophisticated bit of kit, brought over from Romania.
Although currently living in Liverpool, Mikki claims to have committed car crime in a range of European countries.
GTA UK Gadget Mikki
Mikki shows his 'jammer', used to block signals to lock vehicles [CHANNEL 5]
Here in England a lot of people forget their phones in their cars… valuable stuff, electronic stuff. It's a country where you can make money easy
He said: "I've been in Germany, I've stolen from there, I've stolen from Greece, France.
"But here in England a lot of people forget their phones in their cars… valuable stuff, electronic stuff. It's a country where you can make money easy."
The jammer technique can bag the scammer between £600 and £700 a day.
He added: "If I wasn't good at this job the police would have caught me by now."
Mikki sends the money he makes back to his family in Romania, where they are building a villa.
Police suggest that to avoid falling prey to the scam, motorists should stand next to the vehicle while locking it, depress the button and listen for doors locking and lights to flash.
However, there are plenty of other techniques used by swindlers on unsuspecting vehicle owners.*
Viewers also meet Happy, an illegal immigrant from India who is currently living in the south of England with his wife and child.
Happy is a "crasher", who engineers car crashes to cash in on insurance claims.
Alongside a middleman, Happy meets the owner of the car and some "passengers".
He then gets the car into a scrape before swapping places with the official owner of the car, who gets out and takes the other driver's insurance details.
After gaining access to the car, Mikki steals anything he can get his hands on [CHANNEL 5]
Happy targets older drivers, as he knows they are more likely to admit blame for the crash.
Some of the crashes have been particularly nasty and a recent one even ended up with someone in a coma.
Two members of a car theft gang also reveal the tricks of their "trade".
Martin and Vince, from the Midlands, receive £600 a month in benefits but say they still need car crime to help them live.
Martin acts as a "spotter", keeping his eyes peeled for desirable motors.
These are usually luxury cars which appeal to the Russian and eastern European markets, where unwitting buyers are happy to purchase the motors, or match his "shopping list".
He then follows the drivers of the vehicles home, before stealing their keys.
Grand Theft Auto: UK will air on Wednesday at 9pm on Channel 5.