Texas police recover 4 stolen trucks linked to VIN cloning ring — what crimes like these mean for your wallet

6 days ago 26

Police successful Hays County, Texas precocious recovered 4 stolen GMC Denali trucks traced backmost to Houston valued astatine much than $220,000. On each of the trucks, the conveyance recognition fig (VIN) had been “cloned” to dupe unsuspecting buyers.

The vehicles were located aft an probe by the Hays County Sheriff’s Auto Theft Unit and different instrumentality enforcement agencies — acknowledgment to tips from the Hays County Tax Assessor’s bureau astir suspicious conveyance titles, according to Click2Houston.

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“The GMC Denalis were sold by suspects connected Facebook Marketplace for a terms importantly beneath marketplace value,” the Hays County Sheriff’s Office wrote connected Facebook. “All victims were provided fictitious titles for the cloned vehicles.”

VIN cloning occurs erstwhile car thieves regenerate the VIN of a stolen car with the VIN of a legally registered car, often of the aforesaid marque and model, according to Chron.

Since the VIN belongs to a conveyance that hasn’t been reported arsenic stolen, the conveyance tin beryllium passed disconnected arsenic “clean” and sold to an unsuspecting buyer.

Here’s however to debar becoming the adjacent victim.

Buying used? Look for reddish flags

In 2024, much than 850,000 vehicles were stolen successful the U.S., costing car owners astir $8 billion, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Vehicle theft tin pb to important fiscal losses, including the outgo of replacing a car and a higher insurance rate implicit the agelong term. But it’s not conscionable car owners who wage the price.

Buyers of utilized vehicles are besides astatine risk. For example, if authorities observe you’ve bought a cloned car, your car tin beryllium seized and you won’t beryllium reimbursed, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

So it pays to workout other caution erstwhile buying a utilized conveyance from a backstage seller.

Red flags tin see vehicles being sold connected societal media, vehicles with out-of-state titles and prices importantly beneath marketplace value.

For example, the GMC Denali trucks were sold importantly beneath marketplace worth connected Facebook Marketplace.

In immoderate states, you tin person a VIN verification inspection performed by the DMV earlier you bargain a car. If the seller refuses, that’s a reddish flag. Always get a conveyance past study and execute a rubric hunt done the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System — and beryllium definite to get the seller’s I.D.

To assistance forestall your car from being stolen, the NHTSA recommends that owners “use communal sense.”

For example, don’t permission your conveyance moving unattended, parkland successful well-lit areas if imaginable and fastener each windows and doors erstwhile you park. You whitethorn privation to see an anti-theft strategy specified arsenic an immobilizer oregon conveyance betterment system, too.

If your car is stolen, interaction the constabulary immediately. Once you person the constabulary report, you’ll request to interaction your security institution wrong 24 hours of the clip it was stolen. If you find your conveyance earlier the constabulary do, interaction the constabulary and your security institution immediately.

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Make definite you person the close insurance

Comprehensive coverage is the lone benignant of conveyance sum that volition let you to marque claims for theft. If your car isn’t recovered oregon is totaled aft it’s stolen, broad sum whitethorn wage retired the existent currency worth of the car.

While conveyance security doesn’t screen idiosyncratic items that were successful the car erstwhile it was stolen, your homeowner’s argumentation apt will.

The existent currency worth of the car is what your car was worthy erstwhile it was stolen aft accounting for depreciation and the information of your car. It volition apt beryllium beneath the replacement worth of the car, and it whitethorn adjacent beryllium little than your outstanding indebtedness oregon lease balance.

If your car is comparatively new, you whitethorn privation to see new car replacement coverage, which volition wage retired capable for you to regenerate your car with the aforesaid marque and model. You mightiness besides privation to see getting spread insurance, which volition wage disconnected what you inactive beryllium connected your indebtedness oregon lease if the archetypal payout isn’t capable to screen this.

Your security premiums are apt to spell up aft a theft. But whether they do, and by however much, depends connected your circumstantial policy.

And, adjacent if your car is recovered, its worth whitethorn drop. This determination volition beryllium up to the security company, which volition find the magnitude of depreciation to delegate to the car and whether to spot a salvage rubric connected it.

A salvage rubric is assigned erstwhile the security institution deems the outgo of repairing the car to beryllium greater than the worth of the car. This tin hap if the car has been successful an accident, vandalized oregon stripped of parts. You tin take to bargain backmost your car with a salvage title, but it volition beryllium hard to merchantability oregon concern — and volition apt suffer 20% to 40% of its value, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Car theft isn’t conscionable inconvenient, it tin beryllium costly. But taking precautions arsenic a purchaser and making definite you person the close security tin help.