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DETROIT (Bloomberg) — Hackers can already take control of a car. And as vehicles become rolling shopping malls, cybercriminals will have an opportunity to snatch your identity, too. Eager for a cut of drivers’ purchases of fast food, gas and more, automakers have big plans to bring e-commerce to the dashboard. Examples:

• Ford Motor Co. already has an app that lets drivers dictate an order to Domino’s Pizza using voice controls and a smartphone.

• General Motors Co. this year began offering AtYourService, which alerts drivers to deals at Dunkin’ Donuts or lets them book a hotel room on Priceline.com using voice commands.

• By 2020, as many as 40 percent of new vehicles sold worldwide will let drivers shop from behind the wheel, predicts Thilo Koslowski, vice president of the auto practice at Gartner.

CANTON, Mass. and IRVINE, Calif. — LoJack, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CalAmp, is alerting consumers to some of the sophisticated techniques vehicle thieves are using to break into today’s connected vehicle. The information shared is part of a consumer campaign the firm rolled out as part of this month’s National Vehicle Theft Protection Month, but it could also be used by F&I managers to educate consumers about the need for vehicle-recovery systems.

Hackers can already take control of a car. And as vehicles become rolling shopping malls, cybercriminals will have an opportunity to snatch your identity, too.

Eager for a cut of drivers’ purchases of fast food, gas and more, automakers have big plans to bring e-commerce to the dashboard. Ford Motor Co. already has an app that lets drivers dictate an order to Domino’s Pizza using voice controls and a smartphone.

Q: I had a flat tire last weekend. I tried to be a man and change the tire myself. It didn’t go so well. I couldn’t figure out how to best jack up the car — it was almost mission impossible just to pry the jack out of the trunk! — and a couple of the lug nuts were too tight to loosen. Is roadside assistance the only answer?

A: Changing a tire really isn’t too tough. The first consideration is stopping the vehicle in a safe place. Drive slowly with emergency blinkers on until you find such a place — a solid, level area far enough off the roadside so traffic isn’t a major threat. (Beware of soft, grassy areas and inclines.) Under a bridge on an interstate may be a good location because of the concrete surface and wide shoulder area.

I used to think that if I zealously guarded my personal information online, I could protect myself from identity theft. That changed last week when I opened a thick envelope from Sherman Dodge of Skokie and discovered I had purchased a blue 2013 Volkswagen Passat for $22,568.34. “What the…,” I yelled to my husband. “Somebody just bought a car in my name.”

Identity theft is an enormous problem, and now it’s even happening to cars. You know, anybody can walk past your car and copy down the VIN number because it’s right there in the windshield. Once they’ve copied your VIN number, they can apply for duplicate papers, and those papers can be used on another car that has been stolen or may have been reconstructed.

How can you prevent it? Well, simply with a piece of a file folder. All you do is when you get out of the car, you place the file folder over the VIN number and no one can write it down. Pretty clever. But that brings up an interesting point, because here we have VIN etchers.