Cardio-doc "Crime fighter"

[cardio-doc]

Sold the Hummer and was looking at another vehicle to buy and drive for awhile before re-selling. Found a late-model Escalade on eBay that was local so I contacted the seller to come see it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=4542138989

Seller e-mailed me back that she was anxious for a quick sale due to her having to move quickly (see auction for details on that) and offered me a cash-price that was a solid $10,000.00 under market-value. Long story short, we e-mailed and spoke a few times on the phone and my bullsh*t-o-meter was raging but since it was local I figured I'd take a shot. Vehicle was located in an apartment complex. Went down to check it out and the person she'd sent to meet with me was nervous and irritable and the matter wasn't going smoothly. I'd ran the VIN through CarFax previously and it was clean, but I started to really examine the VIN plate and something was amiss. I wanted to check the door label but suddenly the seller's representative 'lost' the keys. He went inside the apartment and given the crap going on and the time I'd had in it, I was starting to get pissed. I really examined that VIN plate getting at all kinds of angles to peruse it, when I saw what I believed to be a shard of a rivet in no place a shard of a rivet should be. That was it. I called BSO (Broward Sheriff's Office). If you can believe it, a cop was there in just 6 minutes.

Well I guess this 'long story short' isn't so short anymore, but the gyst of it is the vehicle was in-fact stolen, and then re-VIN'd. Way it works is this. Perps steal a vehicle, then go to the mall and find an identical vehicle and write down the VIN. Then they reproduce the VIN-plate and go to a 'shady' Auto-Tag agency in Miami (in Miami, these privately-owned businesses actually are given license plates by DMV). One way or another they have the agency issue a valid new registration and new tag on that VIN, and 'cancel' the registration of the rightful owner of that VIN. Also, a new title is issued, and the person holding that title and with the re-VIN'd vehicle can then sell it!

That Escalade was impounded. BTW, I should mention that it was in excellent condition and had just been detailed the day before. It reallly looked great. Now it will sit in an impound yard for 6 months or a year.

~Doc

[Logan]

I see a TV series on this one....'miami vin'

You can also tell by the rivits. VIN plates use a very specfic type of rivit that has a wavy edge.

[Bob D]

Hey 2H, what happened to the perps? Were they cuffed and hauled off in front of the entire apartment population as one might hope..?

[Bruce Nunnally]

Nice job; a real service to the community that.

[Ranger]

Yeah Logan, what happened to them? What would have happened if you had bought is since you said it was retitled? Would you have gotten a deal or screwed? If screwed, how if it was retitled?

[Cupillac]

I Would of bought it!

[Ranger]

That's kinda what I was thinking.

[ted tcb]

Two things come to mind. If someone had my legit VIN cancelled, wouldn't it show up as soon as I needed warranty work, insurance, a driver's ticket, or similar occasions. I guess the theives figure to get in, get out within a couple of weeks .... we call it curbsiding up here. At this time, wouldn't the shady license office that issued and cancelled the VIN's get their business shut down?

More important, I understand that Cardio was pissed ... but would a car thief in the deep south really think twice about silencing a problem with a weapon?

It was honourable, but in hindsight, perhaps a little bit risky .... I would've gotten outa Dodge asap, then made a quick call.

Well done, anyhow.

[Ranger]

Yeah, that makes sense. When you go in for service or get insurance the VIN would come up a beeing stolen and you'd have a lot of explaining to do not to mention the headaches and possible confiscation of your car.

I guess my "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" meter would probably have been off the scale but I have to admit I probably would not have spotted what Cardio Doc did. Scary to think how easy it would be to fall into this trap.

[gygmy]

Hey guys, we are all human with brains. If there is a way to scam eachother or the system it will be done. I am always amazed by how clever we can be in being crooks. I do not condone that sort of behavior but I sure wish those minds could be put to more "useful" work. Thank's Doc for putting a small monkey wrench into those guy's scam. And if it is to good too be true.....

[acklac7]

"I Would of bought it!"

.... If anyone would have bought this car they would almost certainely be out $20,000. It might take a month, or a year for everything to fall into place, but a stolen car is a stolen car. And a fake VIN or in this case someone else's VIN will at some point trigger an alarm somewhere...(get in...get out..fast) I believe there are also "CID'S" (confidential identification numbers) on obscure parts of the car (etched into windows, axels, cross members etc). In all likely hood you would have the Sheriff at your door in a few months, he would impound the car, find the CID, and then say "sorry you bought a stolen vehicle...your screwed"..and you would be out $20,000. Also I believe there is a "suspect VIN list" that the FBI has on certain models of luxury cars...Im not sure how they acquire the suspect VIN's but they do have a list and have a task force that goes and investigates suspicious vehicles to determine if they are indeed stolen.

[Bill K]

Some insurance co. is going to be selling that veh. after the BCS tracks down the previous owner. It still could be a bargin.

[cardio-doc]

Dave - good call on the rivets. I'll keep that in mind in the future.

Bod D - as- explained to me by the detective with the Auto-Theft task force, there is a group out of Miami doing this. They park the vehicles in various affluent apartment complexes which are commonplace in South Florida. They can park the vehicles at these large complexes for days or weeks at a time, unnoticed. Vehicles are backed in and when cops do cruise through they can't see the tag (only rear tags in Florida, no front tags). Furthermore simply running the tag would produce valid registration anyway. So I met with a 'representative' for the group and not one of the main people. He was pretty smooth-talking with the police but when things got hot he wouldn't divulge anything about his superiors and 'lawyered-up' quick. He did go off in cuffs though.

Bruce - thanks for the props. I've mentioned it to a few people here in passing and the first thing they seem to ask is if I got a reward or 'finders fee' or something. I'm disappointed in them that that's all they see. (obviously I didn't 'get' anything other than a whole lot of satisfaction).

Ranger - had I bought it I'd have been the one to assume the loss. I'd probably have been able to re-title it and drive it but sooner or later the rightful owner of that VIN would attempt to renew their registration (or encountered a traffic stop) and they'd have some immediate trouble. They'd be able to prove out that they are the rightful owner of that VIN and the police would be at my door. At BEST I'd be out the purchase price ($24,500.00). At worst I'd be charged with the crimes committed on the vehicle. Scary thought!

Also Ranger - you misunderstand. The vehicle's true VIN wasn't disclosed/located on the vehicle. The VIN on the vehicle was legit! Insurance company would have accepted it.

Ted - probably wouldn't show up for warranty issues. FYI - vehicle had 53k miles so out of warranty anyway.

Tough call on whether the Auto Tag agency that issued the registration/title would be shut down...or even reprimanded. Frankly I thought the Auto Theft Recovery Unit was pretty weak and poorly run, during my encounter/time with them. That they'd forward all this to the proper administrating authority (to deal with the Auto Tag agency) seems like a stretch to me.

gygmy - even scarier - the Auto Theft Unit Detective stated that this VIN plate was poorly done and he'd seen much better ones. A better VIN plate might have gotten by me (sigh).

acklac7 - you are exactly right. When the Auto Theft Task Force showed up they made the other officers secure the perp and went straight to the emissions sticker under the hood. While I don't think there was a VIN on that sticker there were other numbers and the detective called in a number or sequence off of there and in seconds determined the vehicle stolen.

I believe your suggested timing is exactly right. Maybe months but ultimately this vehicle would have been determined to be stolen and whomever had it at that time (or owned it previously and was reachable) would be culpable. Even if I'd already sold it (unknowing of it's branded state) I'd still be responsible.

Bill K - the actual vehicle had been stolen some 6 months prior so the previous owner was undoubtedly re-imbursed (assuming he had comprehensive insurance which an owner of that type of vehicle probably did). So the insurance company is the rightful owner and they'd be the ones to sell it. Somebody would have to reproduce the original VIN and I'd be curious who does that and how it goes down. And also the title of that vehicle will be branded "STOLEN/RECOVERED" which is a killer on resale. But.... now that you mention I think I will call the Auto Tag Theft Unit to find out the insurance company that owns it. Maybe they'd offer me 'first crack' since I found it? In the unlikely event that the original owner didn't have comprehensive insurance, he'd be getting the vehicle back.

cheers,

~Doc

[yenko]

Could you have bought it and then sold it in parts on ebay?

[Rob_M]

Thats pretty slick dude. I don't think I would have noticed all that. I would probably handed them the cash and ended up in the joint a few weeks later. Thanks for the heads up!!!!!!!!!