WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Texas is one of the states with the most auto thefts, and according to the Heart of Texas Auto Theft Task Force, VIN swapping is a growing problem that is now spreading to Central Texas.
Just this week, task force officers, along with the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, Waco Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau here in Waco, recovered five stolen pickup trucks with reversed VIN numbers.
Captain Howard Stinehour of the Auto Theft Task Force says this happens more often than people think, explaining, “Every week we’re here, we have a vehicle stolen.”
If the DMV encounters a vehicle title that it cannot verify, the vehicle is sent to a local task force to confirm that all of its identification information is correct.
“If it’s a used vehicle from out of state, Texas requires an inspection of the vehicle,” Captain Stinehour explained. “Or there’s a problem with the signature on the back of the title…if family members are deceased and someone sells the car without the title, they can’t find the title and then they say bring it here, we’ll identify it, create a new title and start over.”
And so the task force is out in Waco every Wednesday to check convoys of vehicles.
Usually they just confirm the identity of the car and send people on their way, but sometimes they find that a person’s car was actually stolen and then sold to them.
“The crooks are now changing the identity of the vehicles. They are creating new labels, they are giving all the vehicles a different identity… they are creating fake documents, titles, registrations, sales receipts, everything is fake. They are giving it to the unsuspecting buyer,” said Captain Stinehour.
But according to Geoff Aycock of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, VIN swaps are the most common type of car theft today.
“There are vehicles where the public VINs have been removed and replaced with other VINs to assume the identity of another vehicle … that is the most common,” Aycock said.
Captain Stinehour said: “Everything looks fine. They will test it, it is still the same make and model.”
This allows criminals to sell the stolen car online through websites such as Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
“Social media is tricking these people into going out there and buying a car that’s too good to be true,” he said.
Captain Steinhour also explained that the problem is now so big across the state that you are now seeing cars “from Denton, Plano, Frisco and the entire surrounding area.”
And while they do their best to stay one step ahead of thieves, they also ask people to be careful when buying a car.
“I just tell everyone to make every effort to check what they are doing,” Aycock said.
They explained that the biggest sign that a vehicle has been stolen is when you see a high-quality car being sold online for a great price.
However, if you suspect that the car you want to buy may be stolen, we recommend that you call local police authorities or contact the Auto Theft Task Force in your area.
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