The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) found a disturbing trend — an increasing number of thefts of vehicles with the keys left inside. While overall vehicle thefts are declining, vehicles stolen with keys left inside are on the rise. There were 126,603 vehicle thefts with keys reported stolen in the United State between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014.

Theft scenarios include opportunistic theft while a vehicle is being warmed up in the winter with keys in the ignition and instances where thieves simply drove off because owners left keys in the vehicle console.

Older models stolen more

The report data suggests that older models may be more inclined to be stolen this way, especially during the colder months, due to the keys remaining in the ignition while being warmed up. Newer model vehicles can be remote started without the need to keep the keys in the ignition, making these vehicle less desirable for opportunistic thieves.

The reasons that people leave keys in their vehicles are numerous, but none of them is worth the hassle of having your car stolen. Leaving your vehicle running while you run into a store for a quick cup of coffee or to warm it up before a chilly winter commute might make sense to you, but it creates a perfect moment for a car thief.

Looking at day-of-week data, Saturday saw the most thefts with keys (19,147) followed by Friday (18,719) and Monday (18,647).

Out of the 126,603 vehicle thefts with keys, 9% were unrecovered as of December 31, 2014. By state, Texas had the most unrecovered vehicle thefts with keys with 1,036. California came in second with 998 unrecovered thefts and Michigan was third with 990 unrecovered thefts with keys.

As a whole, the top 10 theft states represent 59% of the vehicle thefts with keys. Keep reading to find out which states have the highest vehicle thefts when the keys have been left inside.

Rush hour traffic on I-25 looking towards downtown Denver, Colo. (Paul Gana / Shutterstock.com)

10. Colorado - 3,968 vehicle thefts

Highway traffic into downtown Atlanta, Georgia

Traffic near downtown Atlanta, Ga. (Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com)

9. Georgia - 4,102 vehicle thefts

Entrance to Holland Tunnel

The entrance to Holland Tunnel on June 14, 2014 in New Jersey. The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City. (stockelements / Shutterstock.com)

8. New Jersey - 4,140 vehicles

Highway I-94 heading into Chicago

Special Reports /

Be smart: These are the top 10 states for vehicle thefts when the keys are left inside

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