Dallas car thefts may be connected to social media trend, police say
DALLAS - Dallas police are looking for suspects in a car theft that investigators say is becoming more common.
Police told the car's owner, Steven Binko, that his car may have been targeted because of a social media trend leading to an increase in vehicle thefts involving Kias and Hyundais across the country.
Last Friday, Binko was out walking his dog around the Northstar Apartments on Forest Lane when he noticed something was off.
"I looked out over the parking lot and was like, something is missing, and it was my car!" he said.
At first, Binko thought his Kia had been towed, but when he checked his security camera he saw two people in dark clothing walk over to his car and minutes later drive off.
"It's a really violating feeling," he said.
Binko called Dallas police and filed a report. The next day, the police were back for another calling involving a different stolen Kia.
"I was at my house and the police came knocking on the door and said, ‘Hey, we see you have a camera. Can we take a look at it?’ And I looked out the window and there was a swarm of cops, and they said there had just been another accident," he said.
When Binko pulled up his security camera footage this time they saw a white Kia Soul drive into the parking lot. The driver jumped out of the moving car and ran off. The car crashed into another vehicle as police pulled up.
Dallas police say the Kia was reported stolen and officers followed it into the apartment complex.
They're still looking for the drive.
"To have two incidents happen back-to-back in the same parking lot makes the area feel really unsafe as it is," said Binko.
Investigators told Binko since his car was a Kia it could have been targeted because of a social media trend that explains how to steal certain Kia models.
"When I see that I think, how would you feel if someone broke into your car and I’m having a very hard time understanding," Binko said.
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While Binko isn't hopeful that his car will be found, he wants to share his experience so others can prevent this from happening to them.
"I don’t know somebody robbed me of my freedom, my safety, my peace of mind. They didn’t just take a car," he said.
The increase in vehicle thefts involving a Kia or Hyundai led the car companies to offer free software updates and steering wheel locks for customers.
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Dallas police didn't share a suspect description for either of these incidents.
If you have any information about the car thefts you're asked to contact Dallas Police.