Students and members of staff at Maynooth University have been warned to remain extremely vigilant after a report of three men acting suspiciously in the area.
One girl was walking back to her car at 6pm on Thursday evening which was parked in the library car park on the Kilcock Road when she came across the men.
The girl noticed three lads behaving strangely and saw that they had "one car jacked up and the doors open on another."
She said: "I pretended not to notice as I didn't want them to turn on me. As I got closer, I could hear one lad who had his hoodie hood right up over his face saying 'she's nearly here'.
"As I got closer to the car they all jumped into a vehicle, one in the boot and two in the front and drove off."
The girl got the reg of the car that they were tampering with and reported it to security.
North Dublin village rocked after spate of 'steal to order' thefts in space of days
She added: "They told me it was the catalytic converter that they were trying to steal and that there was a camera at the roundabout and they should be able to get their reg number from that."
A Catalytic Converter is an exhaust emission control device which reduces toxic gases and pollutants into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction.
Thefts of these have become so popular because of their value and how easy they are to steal plus their lack of identification.
It contains several metals including small amounts of rhodium which is like platnium. This type of metal is very rare and valuable.
Man arrested after gardai seize over €60k worth of drugs in Tallaght
Speaking to Dublin Live, a spokesman for campus security at Maynooth University confirmed that a report had been lodged but that they were unable to make out the reg or make of the car from the CCTV footage they had at their disposal.
This scary incident follows a similar report in Lucan at the start of May where two guys came up to a resident's car, jacked it up and tried to steel the wheels off it.
The resident said: "When I confronted them they said 'I thought it was my grandfather's car' and sped off. They were wearing High-Vis vests, clearly trying to look official."
As well as this, it was reported that exhaust parts were stolen in broad daylight in Rathmines in April with Toyota Prius' from the year 2007 onwards being targeted.
Crime gang strip wheels off 30 Volkswagen Golf cars in north Dublin
In October, up to THIRTY Volkswagen Golfs have been stripped of their wheels in north Dublin since October 2, Dublin Live has learned.
A source revealed today that 16 cars in the Balgriffin area of north Dublin were hit in one night last week, while just this morning, a cabin crew worker living in nearby Clongriffin had to find alternative transport to get to work when his Volkswagen Golf's wheels were stolen.
Luxury watches, high end car and cash seized by Criminal Assets Bureau in three Dublin raids
One theory is that the thieves are a gang of Eastern European criminals involved in international vehicle crime.
However, gardai have not ruled out that the perpetrators may be a group of Irish criminals.
The source added: "Gardai have a fair idea who the culprits are - the net is closing in on them and they will be caught."
Yesterday we told how a Malahide mother of two woke up on Tuesday to find her new VW Golf car sitting up on bricks.
A spokeswoman at Joe Duffy Volkswagen in Swords said today that as many as five car owners have contacted them in the past five days looking to have their wheels replaced after their alloys were lifted.
The gang that has been targeting VW wheels are believed to ship them to eastern Europe to be sold. The alloys can fetch as much as €600 each and the tyres go for up to €100.
Thieves target alloy wheels of new Volkswagen cars around north Dublin
This morning, a source told Dublin Live: "Since October 2 to today, 30 cars - all Volkswagens - have had their wheels stripped. The MO that the thieves use is always the same.
"The robbers get in by smashing the fly windows at the back, and pop open the boot to get the lock nut which allows them to get the wheels off.
They invariably use the jack and the spare wheel of the car they're stripping to prop it up.
"They're quick and organised and it only takes them a matter of minutes or so before they vanish with all four wheels."
Staff and customers left terrified as man raids Blanchardstown Centre post office armed with hammer
The Balgriffin and Clongriffin areas have bore the brunt of the crime spree, while the thieves have also struck in Balbriggan, Baldoyle, Portmarnock, Malahide and Howth.
The source added: "They hit 16 cars in one single night last week in between Balgriffin, Baldoyle and Clongriffin.
"Just yesterday two cars in one estate in the Clongriffin area were hit, while a job was done on another car this morning in a neighbouring estate."
