Park your Lexus in front of your clunker.

Use your garage, if you have one.

Consider putting your key fob in the freezer, next to the Rocky Road ice cream.

Those are a few tips car security experts offer that might help stymie a rash of car thefts in Toronto’s posher neighbourhoods.

Police in 53 Division warn that there has been a spike this year in the theft of high-end Acura, Toyota and Lexus SUVs.

Ironically, the vehicles targeted are often the ones with the new, high-end security systems.

The thieves, “are not looking for the older ones,” Const. Alex Li of 53 Division said.

In many of the Leaside and Forest Hill thefts, there are no signs of damage found where the vehicle was parked.

This suggests crooks have what Toronto police call “access to electronic devices that can bypass the vehicle security system.”

One increasingly popular form of electronic theft device is a “power amplifier,” according to the Swiss security company 3db Technologies.

The amplifier targets high-end vehicles with keyless entry. Keyless entry systems can automatically unlock vehicles when a key fob is within a few feet of a vehicle. A program inside those vehicles searches a couple feet for the presence of a key, then unlocks the door.

The “power amplifier” expands that range, meaning it can unlock your car even when your key fob is inside your home, 3db Technologies security specialists say.

One way of beating this, according to 3db, is to put your key fob in a closed metallic box or your fridge freezer to cut the signal.

“This would reduce significantly the attack,” Boris Danev, a founder of 3db Technologies, said in an email interview.

Carol Kaplan of the National Insurance Crime Bureau in the U.S. said there’s no way of knowing what technology is used to hack into a vehicle, unless the thief is caught in the act.

Earlier this year, her bureau warned of a “security device” used to unlock vehicles with keyless entry systems.

Clearly, crooks are finding ways around security for the best cars.

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Former soccer star David Beckham had two armour-plated SUVs stolen in three years when he played for Real Madrid.

One showed up in Macedonia, where it was seized in a raid on a people-trafficking ring along the Macedonia-Albania border.

Fellow soccer stars David Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Zinedine Zidane also had their high-end, high-security vehicles nicked.

“There’s multiple theories what kind of device is use to open these locks,” Kaplan said.

Meanwhile, Toronto Police suggest you make sure you lock your doors, roll up your windows and park somewhere well-lit. These are a few other tips:

Don’t leave the registration inside your vehicle.

Use your emergency brakes when parking and parking with wheels turned towards the curb.

Test both sets of keys after you pick up your ride from a repair shop, car wash or valet.

Never leave spare keys in your vehicle and use the steering-wheel lock.