Police Reveal That Seattle’s Rising Kia Car Thefts Linked to TikTok Videos
A series of TikTok videos may be responsible for the recent spike in Kia car thefts in Seattle, according to police.
Seattle police have said that they investigated 36 reports of stolen Kias last month — compared with five in July last year — and believe thieves may be using a method learned from tutorial videos on how to use other tools in place of a key.
Following this revelation, the police are advising Kia owners to park in lighted or secure areas when possible and look into using steering wheel locks and aftermarket ignition kill-switch systems.
The vehicles recently stolen were Kia models Optima, Soul, Sorento, Forte and Sportage, and all were manufactured between 2014 and 2021, Seattle police said in an online blotter post.
Two teens were arrested this month after police received a report that several people in a Kia — later determined to have been stolen — had pulled up on a residential street on northwest Capitol Hill and tried to steal a second Kia.
Officers arrived and spotted the suspects, who sped away and crashed into a fence in the 900 block of East Newton Street.
