Police have named the top three hotspots for car thefts in Perthshire.
They are North Muirton, Almondbank and Pitlochry.
Between them the three areas account for almost a quarter of all stolen cars in Perthshire in the last six months.
Officers are warning travelling criminals are targeting rural areas.
And they are stepping up patrols in the worst-affected places.
Motorists are also being urged to do their bit following a rise in thefts from unlocked vehicles.
Police recorded 53 motor vehicle thefts and a further 105 motor vehicle crimes between April 1 and September 30 this year.
The figures were presented to Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and social wellbeing committee.
Councillors heard detectives, local officers and traffic police are working together to tackle the crimes.
But they were told the size of rural Perthshire makes the challenge “extremely problematic”.
Stolen car figures show criminals targeting rural Perthshire
The police report states: “North Muirton, Almondbank and Pitlochry areas have been hotspots this period, recording four crimes each.
“Particularly with the latter two, it is clear criminals from outwith have travelled to commit crime targeting our more rural communities.”
The 105 additional motor vehicle crimes is 39 more crimes than the same time last year.
The largest single rise comes from thefts from insecure vehicles.
And detection rates have also fallen.
The report says: “This emphasises the challenge posed in detecting rural offending, particularly by travelling criminals.”
Chief Inspector Greg Burns told councillors: “We continue with crime prevention campaigns to try and combat this opportune offending.”
He urged councillors to “cascade the message of crime prevention to communities in a bid to reduce these statistics”.
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