Automobile Identity Theft
This scam was uncovered in Israel:
- Thief rents a car.
- An identical car, legitimately owned, is found and its “identity” stolen.
- The stolen identity is applied to the rented car and is then offered for sale in a newspaper ad.
- Innocent buyer purchases the car from the thief as a regular private party sale.
- After a few days the thief steals the car back from the buyer and returns it to the rental shop.
What ended up happening is that the “new” owners claimed compensation for the theft and most of the damage was absorbed by the insurers.
Clever.
Ian Ringrose • September 21, 2005 8:39 AM
You missed out the “make a copy of the keys??? step.
What is needed is a third party, (e.g. the government) to check the IDs of both parties and the ownership rights of the selling before the buyer hands over the money. This is also needed when someone uses a car as part of a crime then claims that they had sold the car the week before for cash.
The fact that it is VERY easy to clone number plates just make this scam easier to do, having number plates that can not be cloned and can not be removed from a car without damming them will offer some protection.
It is also a lot too hard to change all the locks on a car when you buy it, so as to protect yourself from the seller keeping a copy of the keys.