Exposed VIN on Dash
Exposed VIN on Dash
05-05-2006, 08:58 PM
#2
I don't see a purpose in covering the VIN.
I'm certain that there are laws against altering the VIN. But I don't know if that includes covering it. Besides the couple of times that I have been pulled over by the cops, the cop compares my registration to the VIN. Covering the VIN would raise suspicion.
I'm certain that there are laws against altering the VIN. But I don't know if that includes covering it. Besides the couple of times that I have been pulled over by the cops, the cop compares my registration to the VIN. Covering the VIN would raise suspicion.
05-06-2006, 04:14 AM
#5
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 5,998
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
05-06-2006, 06:33 AM
#7
I work for a police agency and get informations on the latest scams. The VIN scam is actually not new.
What happens is that the criminals go and grab VIN numbers from cars in another state and then sell/trade/give it to a chop shop in another state or even country. The chop shop then removes the older VIN on the stolen car and put your new VIN on the stolen car. This way, the car is not labeled as stolen on the authorities record. And yes, they try to match the same model of cars up with the VIN number.
I cover up my VIN number with a thin black piece of paper. I don't want any chop shop using my VIN in another province or state. But the latest scams is that the criminals go to car lots and steal the VIN numbers even before you buy the car...
What happens is that the criminals go and grab VIN numbers from cars in another state and then sell/trade/give it to a chop shop in another state or even country. The chop shop then removes the older VIN on the stolen car and put your new VIN on the stolen car. This way, the car is not labeled as stolen on the authorities record. And yes, they try to match the same model of cars up with the VIN number.
I cover up my VIN number with a thin black piece of paper. I don't want any chop shop using my VIN in another province or state. But the latest scams is that the criminals go to car lots and steal the VIN numbers even before you buy the car...
Trending Topics
05-06-2006, 09:23 AM
#9
Making a key is very easy using the VIN...I have done it on my car without ID when my keys were lost by a body shop (know someone on the inside). The only thing you cant do is start the car. Our keys have small chips that activate our ECU's to turn the car on. What I can do is make a key for your VIN and open your doors by deactivating your factor alarm and taking stuff that you have lying around with ease. No need to steal your car if you have equipment worth good money! You dont want to be my enemy! 
05-06-2006, 11:19 AM
#10
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 5,998
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by SpeedRcr
its not an urban legend when people have been doing this scam on other cars and it keeps making the news...but hey you can be the next victim for 2 seconds of safety
05-06-2006, 11:39 AM
#11
http://www.is-it-a-lemon.com/carfax/news-111403.htm
http://www.bbbvideo.com/articlenews/...p?articleID=51
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/crimint/sparkplug_e.htm
And this is just a 5 second search on google. I see these reports all the time of stolen VIN at my work. This happens every day. This is nothing rare. You won't see news article of every stolen vin on a car just like you won't see news article on every Break and entering. It just happens so often that it is not "news" anymore. But police agencies knows better and get all the reports.
http://www.bbbvideo.com/articlenews/...p?articleID=51
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/crimint/sparkplug_e.htm
Auto theft for export includes several stages of activity which occur in various parts of the country. For example, a car can be stolen in Ontario, fitted with a new identity in Quebec, via the switching and/or counterfeiting of vehicle identification numbers (VINs), and transported to and sold in Alberta, or transported to a Canadian port for shipment overseas.
Types of VIN Scams
* VIN Switch: Thieves use VIN switching to disguise the identity of a stolen vehicle. They will replace the VIN on a stolen vehicle with a VIN that is not recorded as stolen. The thief will then try to resell the stolen car to an unsuspecting customer. Some VIN switchers will also create fraudulent titles and registrations to go along with the vehicle.
* Salvage Switch: A vehicle that is extensively damaged, burned, or stripped, and determined not to be eligible for repair is called "salvaged." Thieves use phony identification to buy a salvaged vehicle just to obtain the title and the VIN. Then, they go out and steal a car that is the same make and model, and switch the VIN plates. The thieves then claim that the stolen car is in fact the salvaged one that is rebuilt, register the vehicle using the phony identification information, and then resell it to an innocent purchaser.
* Strip and Run: This is another scam that thieves use to disguise a stolen car. In this situation, a car thief steals a car, strips it for the parts, then abandons it. Eventually, police recover the vehicle and cancel the theft record. The thieves purchase the vehicle’s frame at an insurance or police auto auction and then re-attach the parts they stole from the car, resulting in a car that is no longer listed as stolen.
* VIN Switch: Thieves use VIN switching to disguise the identity of a stolen vehicle. They will replace the VIN on a stolen vehicle with a VIN that is not recorded as stolen. The thief will then try to resell the stolen car to an unsuspecting customer. Some VIN switchers will also create fraudulent titles and registrations to go along with the vehicle.
* Salvage Switch: A vehicle that is extensively damaged, burned, or stripped, and determined not to be eligible for repair is called "salvaged." Thieves use phony identification to buy a salvaged vehicle just to obtain the title and the VIN. Then, they go out and steal a car that is the same make and model, and switch the VIN plates. The thieves then claim that the stolen car is in fact the salvaged one that is rebuilt, register the vehicle using the phony identification information, and then resell it to an innocent purchaser.
* Strip and Run: This is another scam that thieves use to disguise a stolen car. In this situation, a car thief steals a car, strips it for the parts, then abandons it. Eventually, police recover the vehicle and cancel the theft record. The thieves purchase the vehicle’s frame at an insurance or police auto auction and then re-attach the parts they stole from the car, resulting in a car that is no longer listed as stolen.
Originally Posted by HDPD350Z
As people demand timeslips when 1/4 times are discussed... Please show me the news clippings of this being done to private vehicles vice new or used cars on a sales lot.
05-06-2006, 11:48 AM
#12
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 5,998
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
And this is just a 5 second search on google. I see these reports all the time of stolen VIN at my work. This happens every day. This is nothing rare. You won't see news article of every stolen vin on a car just like you won't see news article on every Break and entering. It just happens so often that it is not "news" anymore. But police agencies knows better and get all the reports.
05-06-2006, 11:56 AM
#13
You are changing the subject, I never claim that anything I can do would have pervented the scams I linked to from occuring. All I did was answer your post about giving links and articles like a "time slip".
Preventing these scams is another whole topic which I never brought up nor started.
Preventing these scams is another whole topic which I never brought up nor started.
Originally Posted by HDPD350Z
How many of the instances you linked would covering the ViN up had prevented?
05-06-2006, 12:00 PM
#14
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 5,998
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by ZlleH
You are changing the subject, I never claim that anything I can do would have pervented the scams I linked to from occuring. All I did was answer your post about giving links and articles like a "time slip".
Preventing these scams is another whole topic which I never brought up nor started.
Preventing these scams is another whole topic which I never brought up nor started.
05-06-2006, 02:38 PM
#16
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 5,998
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by lilaznxboi08
every car has there vin exposed. except for a few. dont worry about it.
05-06-2006, 03:13 PM
#17
Ironically, that is one of the new method for stopping these VIN scams since it is hard/expensive for the chop shop to erase the etching. They would have to buy a new window and have to find a way to etch in the new VIN number. But like I said in my above post, Preventing these scams is another topic, so I won't get into them.
And to answer why it is still good to cover up their VIN even when they can collect your VIN at the dealership... It's because it is much easier to go to a dealership location when your chop shop is in need of a certain model. But that does not stop them from carrying a simple pen and notebook and right down nice cars that they come across like BMWs, 350Zs, etc (believe it or not, not every dealership lot is done). Like someone said before, it's a simple 10 second thing to do, get a black paper material, cut it up, place it behind the windshield.
It's such a simple and unnoticable thing to do to prevent thieves from collecting your VINs for chop shop that I don't even know why we are having to make an argument out of doing this. I guess this is why police agencies have such a hard time convincing the dealership to cover up the VINs, they have the same attitudes as you. It just makes our jobs harder.
I am done with this thread, it's like talking to the dealership.
And to answer why it is still good to cover up their VIN even when they can collect your VIN at the dealership... It's because it is much easier to go to a dealership location when your chop shop is in need of a certain model. But that does not stop them from carrying a simple pen and notebook and right down nice cars that they come across like BMWs, 350Zs, etc (believe it or not, not every dealership lot is done). Like someone said before, it's a simple 10 second thing to do, get a black paper material, cut it up, place it behind the windshield.
It's such a simple and unnoticable thing to do to prevent thieves from collecting your VINs for chop shop that I don't even know why we are having to make an argument out of doing this. I guess this is why police agencies have such a hard time convincing the dealership to cover up the VINs, they have the same attitudes as you. It just makes our jobs harder.
I am done with this thread, it's like talking to the dealership.
Originally Posted by HDPD350Z
Also don't forget how many people pay extra to have the ViN etched on the windows as well.
Last edited by ZlleH; 05-06-2006 at 04:42 PM.
05-06-2006, 03:46 PM
#18
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Az
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I cover our VINs. The local Phoenix news had a segment on it showing how easy it was for thier reporter to go to a dealership and get a key without any proof of ownership. They did it over and over at many different dealerships. It is so easy to cover it, why take the chance?
05-07-2006, 05:20 AM
#19
Dude whats your qualm...if covering the vin makes it harder for someone to get ahold of info that can help it make it easier to steal your car its a good thing...unless you are some tool troll for the insurance agencies who want our policies to go up...
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ars88
Zs & Gs For Sale
18
04-04-2016 07:52 AM
Vigman
Maintenance & Repair
17
11-17-2015 04:34 AM
xirtam
Zs & Gs For Sale
5
10-03-2015 02:06 PM
