Simone Biles' Chicago-area car theft exposes how crews pick their targets

Three masked men showed up at Simone Biles' Chicago-area home, took her Porsche from the driveway, and left. The whole thing was over before anyone could respond. Biles confirmed the incident publicly and said she planned to get a guard dog.

NBC News reported the story on September 22, 2026 (nbcnews.com), describing a coordinated theft by three suspects who were masked and apparently familiar with the property. That last detail matters more than most coverage has acknowledged.

Coordinated crews do their homework first

Three masked men working together is not a crime of opportunity. It is the end of a process that started days or weeks earlier, during reconnaissance. Organized theft rings that target residential luxury vehicles follow a predictable selection method: they look for homes where a high-value vehicle is regularly visible, where the owner's identity and schedule are partly knowable, and where no human variable is likely to interrupt them.

Biles is one of the most photographed athletes alive. Her general location, the events she attends, and the vehicles associated with her are not hard to piece together from public sources. Fan photos, press appearances, and social media posts create a profile that a motivated crew can use to narrow down an address and watch for patterns.

This is not unique to celebrities. Anyone who regularly parks a luxury vehicle in a visible driveway, posts photos that include license plates or home exteriors, or follows a predictable daily schedule is presenting the same kind of information. The celebrity angle makes the story newsworthy. The underlying vulnerability is much more common.

What reconnaissance actually looks like

Most homeowners do not notice when they are being watched. A vehicle that circles the block twice at different times of day. Someone who parks briefly near a driveway entrance and leaves. A rideshare pickup that lingers a beat too long. None of these trigger alarm on their own.

Crews doing pre-theft surveillance are specifically looking for a few things: when the vehicle is parked outside versus in a garage, whether exterior cameras are positioned to cover the driveway or only the front door, whether there is any sign of a human presence that could respond in real time, and what the likely police response time is for that address. In the Chicago metro, average response times in suburban areas can run six to twelve minutes. A crew that has watched a property knows they have a comfortable window.

The masked approach is also intentional. Masks are not just about avoiding identification on camera. They are a signal that the crew has already accounted for cameras in their planning. They are not worried about being recorded because they intend to be gone before any response is possible.

Why the driveway is the actual vulnerability

A garage with a closed door removes the primary trigger for target selection: visible access to the vehicle. A car you cannot see from the street is a car a crew cannot confirm is worth hitting that night.

For many households, fully garaged parking is not realistic for every vehicle. When a vehicle has to sit outside, a few specific steps reduce exposure. Key fob signal-blocking pouches (Faraday bags) cut off relay attacks, where thieves use signal amplifiers to capture the fob's transmission through walls and start the car without a physical key. This method accounts for a significant share of modern luxury vehicle thefts, and blocking the signal stops it before it begins. Motion-activated lighting that covers the full driveway, not just the walkway to the front door, raises the cost of approaching quietly. Varying the position and orientation of visible cameras makes it harder for a crew to identify the exact blind spots.

None of these eliminate risk. They shift the calculation during reconnaissance. A property that requires more effort and carries more uncertainty gets skipped in favor of an easier target.

Pro tip: Keep your key fobs in a signal-blocking pouch every night, not just when you travel. Relay theft works while the fob is sitting on a kitchen counter or entryway table. A Faraday bag costs under $20 and makes that attack method fail completely before it starts.

Where a human presence changes the math

XGuard works with residential clients specifically on the reconnaissance problem. A site assessment maps what is visible from public roads, where the sightlines are, and what a crew doing a drive-by would be able to confirm about the property. For high-profile clients or high-value vehicle situations, that assessment shapes where cameras are positioned, how exterior lighting is configured, and whether a rotating guard schedule is appropriate.

A guard on property is not primarily a response asset. The value is that a crew cannot fully predict what they will encounter. Fixed cameras, lighting, and even dogs can be observed and timed. A person who varies their schedule and position introduces uncertainty that organized crews want to avoid. They are looking for the easy target. Adding a human variable often means they look elsewhere.

The selection process is the place to intervene

Biles is safe and will almost certainly upgrade her security significantly. The broader point from this incident is that the crime was decided before those three men put on masks and walked up the driveway. The selection happened during surveillance, based on visible information that suggested the property was a workable target.

That is the stage worth addressing. Not just what happens when someone is already on your property, but what a crew sees when they are deciding whether your home is worth the effort. Making that calculation work against them, before anything happens, is what residential security planning is actually for.

Need protection where you are? XGuard connects you with licensed, vetted security operators in minutes — for events, residences, retail, executive protection, and fire watch. Available globally.

Source: us-nbc-news — 2026-09-22