Greg's Corner

Can a scammer take a loan out on your car?

By Greg Collier

Not too long ago, we posted a story about how car thieves were cloning vehicle identification numbers (VIN) to put on stolen cars. The thieves would put the stolen VIN on a car of the same make and model before selling it to unsuspecting buyers. More recently, another scam has emerged that also uses VIN cloning, but doesn’t involve stolen cars.

An elderly couple in Arizona were attempting to sell their truck so they could pay some medical bills. They listed the truck for sale online and found a legitimate buyer. When the couple and the buyer went to the DMV to transfer the title, they were hit with some unusual news. The title couldn’t be transferred because there was a $12,000 lien on the vehicle. The couple said that wasn’t possible since they owned the truck outright and hadn’t taken any loans out on it.

What had happened is a scammer got a hold of the truck’s VIN, and used it to get the truck transferred to them. The scammer created a bill of sale and forged the truck owner’s name to it. Some of the documentation was even notarized. With the title now in their name, the alleged scammer was able to take the title to a title loan office and got a $4000 loan. As you might expect, the loan was never paid, which led to the $12,000 lien. The truck was even supposed to be repossessed, but the truck couldn’t be found since the scammer never actually had possession of the truck.

Unfortunately, the couple are still trying to get the matter straightened out with their state’s DMV.

So, the question remains, how can you protect yourself from this happening to you? The Arizona Department of Transportation recommends selling your vehicle to a dealership to prevent your personal information from getting out. You can also check your state’s DMV website to see if they can check the current status of your title. If they do, it may be worth checking on it every once in a while.