CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The TikTok challenge to steal Kias and Hyundais strikes again in metro Atlanta. This time, in Clayton County, where a woman says her car was broken into, driven around her neighborhood, and crashed into another vehicle.
She wanted to remain anonymous for her safety.
"[Clayton County police] let me know it was the TikTok trend of the 'Kia Boys' going around," she said over the phone. "They took my car, they drove around in it and they went into someone else's car. When they took someone else's car that's when the police were alerted. The other car was totaled and my car is messed up.”
The viral TikTok videos show a step-by-step on how to steal Kias and Hyundais. The trend, which is about one year old, targets the makes and models of 2010 to 2021 vehicles.
Then, they go on joyrides and post the videos online.
Her vehicle is a 2018 Kia Soul, which she got just six months ago as a gift from her father.
"It's very frustrating," she said. "My dad had passed in January and he was already telling my mom, 'go ahead and give her a car.' On top of that, I had a necklace with my dad's ashes in the car. So thank God they didn't take that.”
They also didn’t take her Macbook or purse from her vehicle. She says the police told her the boys who did this were just 13 years old.
“They hit the right side of my car got scratches on the right side and a dent on the right side. Then they also hit a curb to where my left front wheel is bent in and from them doing that, my whole front axle broke," she added. "They broke my back window. I had lotion and conditioner in my car, they poured out all over the floor in my car. Basically, they just trashed my car.”
Police recommend using steering wheel locks to prevent these thefts. Kia and Hyundai say they are working on providing free locks to law enforcement officials in areas that have been affected.
11Alive has reached out to Clayton County police about this and have not heard back.