Hidden ignition or fuel pump kill switches were once popular and could be installed quite easily. Today, many cars have anti-theft systems built in.

But when it's turned off, it's dead. It's called a battery kill switch. The device connects to a car battery and cuts off power when the key has disabled it.

In recent years, though, amid consumer horror stories ranging from inconvenience to outright danger, a few states are restricting or banning the kill-switch tactic as unfair and potentially unsafe.

U.S. wireless operators on Wednesday fought back against an accusation from the New York State attorney general that they refused to install software that would act as a "kill switch" to ...

The lender, without her knowledge, had installed a “kill switch” and triggered it remotely after Hayes missed a payment.