Yes, it’s become common over the past few years. People walk up to houses or apartments, catch the signal, and use a device to copy it and steal the car.
I don’t know about the Android feature, but on iPhones, they reserve a little power when the battery is dead, or the phone is powered off, and it continues to be fully trackable. It functions like an AirTag by relaying off other nearby iOS devices.
This saved me on an iPhone before. I lost my phone outside a bar miles from my house, and didn’t notice at the time. The next day I was able to track it and go retrieve it despite that the battery was dead. Otherwise I never would have seen it again.
Yes, it’s become common over the past few years. People walk up to houses or apartments, catch the signal, and use a device to copy it and steal the car.
Couple example articles:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/other/lapd-issues-warning-over-spike-in-chevy-camaro-thefts/ar-BB1j5s52
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/edinburgh-police-warn-of-keyless-car-theft-surge-as-criminals-steal-vehicles-in-seconds/ar-BB1jX8ci
So there are signal-blocking pouches sold to prevent this:
https://askthecarexpert.com/faraday-boxes-for-car-keys/