Just as your Social Security Number and other personal information can be used to steal your identity, your car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) can be stolen in order to “clone” your car.
Here is how it works: First, a car is stolen. Next, the thieves take the VIN from a similar vehicle. They may physically pry the VIN plate from a car in a salvage lot, or they may copy or photograph the VIN from a car in a parking lot or dealer lot. Once they have the VIN, criminals can create counterfeit VIN plates, stickers, labels, and even vehicle title documents.
The cloned car is then sold to an unsuspecting buyer, usually in another state. By selling the cloned car in a different state from where the legitimate user of the VIN is located, it is unlikely the duplicate VIN will be noticed when the clone is registered because state registries are not linked.
Car cloning creates multiple victims. The first victim is the legal owner of the stolen car. The second victim is the owner of the car from which the VIN was stolen. Because the VINs are identical, a vehicle history report may indicate that the car is stolen or it may show accidents or other incidents that actually involved the cloned car, affecting the resale value of the victim’s car.
The third victim is the person who unknowingly buys the stolen and cloned car. When vehicle cloning is discovered, law enforcement will confiscate the vehicle. Even though the purchaser didn’t know the car was stolen, they are left without the vehicle and without the money they paid for it, a loss that is not typically covered by insurance.
Although VIN fraud can be difficult to detect, there are several things you can do to protect yourself. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) recommends that when buying a car you:
- Check the vehicle’s VIN with appropriate government agencies or your state bureau of motor vehicles.
- Review the ownership history for any new or late model vehicle with no lien holder.
- Be wary of sellers running an ad and using a cell phone number as their only method of contact.
- Conduct a title search of the vehicle.
- Ask your insurer to inspect the vehicle before you buy.
- Trust your instincts: If you don’t like the answers or the deal sounds too good to be true, walk away!
If you suspect fraud, report it to the NICB at (800) 835-6422.
