Experts warn car owners not to become a victim of ‘frost-jacking’ as temperatures plummet
Leaving your car running to help defrost ice and snow makes your vehicle an easy target for thieves
With temperatures dropping below zero and many parts of the UK seeing ice and snow this morning, the car insurance experts at Go.Compare are warning drivers not to leave cars unattended while they defrost - or you could risk your car being stolen, or potentially a costly fine.
‘Frost-jacking’ or ‘Warm-up theft’ is theft of a vehicle that has been left unattended with the engine on. While it might be tempting to turn your car’s fans on and leave it to warm up, this presents the ideal opportunity for thieves - as well as potentially getting you in hot water with the law.
Tom Banks, Go.Compare Car Insurance expert, explains: “It’s important to thoroughly de-ice your car before driving to make sure you have adequate visibility, and this process can take a while. But while it’s tempting to just turn your car on, blast the fans, and go about your business, leaving your car unattended for any length of time is a huge security risk.
“It only takes moments for someone to hop in the car seat and drive away - and opportunistic thieves will be on the lookout for cars left unattended on frosty mornings. Additionally, leaving a running car unattended is a legal offence - and you could potentially face a hefty fine if you’re caught doing this. So, don’t take the risk. Instead, we recommend taking a more hands-on approach: use a good quality ice scraper, and apply de-icer to speed the process up.
“Our research shows that only a quarter of motorists (26%) are prepared enough to have put an ice scraper in their cars in readiness for the cold weather, and just one in five (20%) have switched to a windscreen wash that won’t freeze.* Now that the frost and snow has started to arrive, we would urge drivers to think more about winter car maintenance and have these things at-hand.”
For more tips on driving in the winter, head to Go.Compare’s winter driving guide.
Contact Information
Rosie Johns
Notes to editors
*The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,002 UK Nationally Representative Consumers. The data was collected between 22.09.2025 - 24.09.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
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Go.Compare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
It does not charge people to use its services and does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Go.Compare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. It is this approach to comparing products that secured the company an invitation to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) in 2008, and it is still the only comparison site to be a member of this organisation.
Go.Compare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and works with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
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More information can be found here www.gocompare.com or here https://www.futureplc.com/brands/.