Subject: Fw: VIN #
Hi All
I do not know if this is true or not as I have not checked it out as
yet. But thought it interesting enough to forward and one can do as one
wishes. I received this from a personal friend which I consider
reliable.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 10:07 PM
Subject: VIN #
Subject: FW Your VIN #...more to look out for!
Seems that car thieves have found yet another way to steal your car or
truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the
windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN # from the label on
the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key
based on the VIN #.
I didn't believe this e-mail, so I called a friend at Chrysler Dodge and
pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN #,
and they would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless
device if I wanted.
The Car Dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN
#, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He
doesn't have to break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw
attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert
the key and off he goes to a local chop shop with your vehicle.
You don't believe it? It IS that easy.
To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical
tape, duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN Metal Label located on
the dash board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it
so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief.
I urge you to forward this to your friends before some other car thief
steals another car or truck.
I slipped a 3 x 5 card over the VIN #.

On Sat, 14 May 2005 08:45:25 -0400, (N.L. Eckert)
wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it
so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief.

Don't do it in CT. Automatic $500 fine.

Later,

Tom

So, is your car so special that a thief would take the time to get a key
made for it?
I'm sure thieves know how to start a car without the bother of a key.

"N.L. Eckert" wrote in message
...
Subject: Fw: VIN #
Hi All
I do not know if this is true or not as I have not checked it out as
yet. But thought it interesting enough to forward and one can do as one
wishes. I received this from a personal friend which I consider
reliable.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 10:07 PM
Subject: VIN #
Subject: FW Your VIN #...more to look out for!
Seems that car thieves have found yet another way to steal your car or
truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the
windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN # from the label on
the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key
based on the VIN #.
I didn't believe this e-mail, so I called a friend at Chrysler Dodge and
pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN #,
and they would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless
device if I wanted.
The Car Dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN
#, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He
doesn't have to break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw
attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert
the key and off he goes to a local chop shop with your vehicle.
You don't believe it? It IS that easy.
To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical
tape, duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN Metal Label located on
the dash board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it
so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief.
I urge you to forward this to your friends before some other car thief
steals another car or truck.
I slipped a 3 x 5 card over the VIN #.

Actually, a lot of the new cars will only start with a key. There is a
computer chip in the key now days and the car will not start without it.
Makes a lot of sense getting a key at the dealer and steal the car.
"William Andersen" wrote in message
newshvhe.26032$tQ.7297@fed1read06...
So, is your car so special that a thief would take the time to get a key
made for it?
I'm sure thieves know how to start a car without the bother of a key.

"N.L. Eckert" wrote in message
...
Subject: Fw: VIN #
Hi All
I do not know if this is true or not as I have not checked it out as
yet. But thought it interesting enough to forward and one can do as one
wishes. I received this from a personal friend which I consider
reliable.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 10:07 PM
Subject: VIN #
Subject: FW Your VIN #...more to look out for!
Seems that car thieves have found yet another way to steal your car or
truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the
windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN # from the label on
the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key
based on the VIN #.
I didn't believe this e-mail, so I called a friend at Chrysler Dodge and
pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN #,
and they would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless
device if I wanted.
The Car Dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN
#, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He
doesn't have to break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw
attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert
the key and off he goes to a local chop shop with your vehicle.
You don't believe it? It IS that easy.
To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical
tape, duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN Metal Label located on
the dash board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it
so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief.
I urge you to forward this to your friends before some other car thief
steals another car or truck.
I slipped a 3 x 5 card over the VIN #.

When I originally posted this, I was only referring to theft, but in
todays Detroit Free Press, there is an article about stealing the VIN#
in order to use it on stolen cars and gain false titles & license plates
for the re- sale of the stolen car
=================================
Actually, a lot of the new cars will only start with a key. There is a
computer chip in the key now days and the car will not start without it.
Makes a lot of sense getting a key at the dealer and steal the car.
"William Andersen" wrote in message
newshvhe.26032$tQ.7297@fed1read06...
So, is your car so special that a thief would take the time to get a key
made for it?
I'm sure thieves know how to start a car without the bother of a key.
"N.L. Eckert" wrote in message
...
Subject: Fw: VIN #
Hi All
I do not know if this is true or not as I have not checked it out as
yet. But thought it interesting enough to forward and one can do as one
wishes. I received this from a personal friend which I consider
reliable.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 10:07 PM
Subject: VIN #
Subject: FW Your VIN #...more to look out for!
Seems that car thieves have found yet another way to steal your car or
truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the
windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN # from the label on
the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key
based on the VIN #.
I didn't believe this e-mail, so I called a friend at Chrysler Dodge and
pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN #,
and they would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless
device if I wanted.
The Car Dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN
#, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He
doesn't have to break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw
attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert
the key and off he goes to a local chop shop with your vehicle. You
don't believe it? It IS that easy.
To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical
tape, duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN Metal Label located on
the dash board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it
so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief. I urge you
to forward this to your friends before some other car thief steals
another car or truck.
I slipped a 3 x 5 card over the VIN #. .

This is the text of the article in the Free Press in part.
==================================At least one area automobile dealer
and some residents recently have suffered from one of the latest twists
in automobile theft.
With car cloning, thieves use vehicle identification numbers, or VINs,
of parked cars and put them on a vehicle of the same model that has been
stolen in another state or country. Thieves get documents that make the
stolen vehicle seem legitimate. Cars are then sold to buyers who are
unaware of the fraud until they try to register the vehicles and learn
there's a duplicate.
Jay Leonard, owner of Preferred Automotive Group in Ft. Wayne, where
Weaver bought her vehicle, first heard of car cloning last week when a
friend who bought a vehicle from him called to say police were on the
way to his house to investigate whether his new Acura MDS was stolen.
"I didn't believe it at first," Leonard said. "They said car cloning is
being done by the Russian mafia out of Quebec, Canada."
Fort Wayne Police Detective Joe Hullinger is investigating the cloning,
which he said is being done outside the country. By the time vehicles
are imported to the United States, the cloning is complete, he said.
"We've seen it before and we know where some of it's coming from," he
said. "Everything is forged to look legitimate."
Often cloning is not immediately caught because of a lack of
communication between states.
For instance, people in New York might not know what's happening in
California. Hullinger said he was unable to provide many details because
of the ongoing investigation.
Leonard said police told him between 5,000 and 6,000 cars had been
cloned in Canada. The vehicles were stolen, duplicate VINs used, and
then the cars were shipped to the United States for sale. Seven vehicles
purchased for sale at Preferred Automotive were stolen with fraudulent
VINs, something the dealership could do little about, Leonard said.
Each of the vehicles purchased by the dealer undergoes a 96-point check
and the CARFAX database is reviewed. CARFAX provides vehicle history
records including information such as odometer readings and whether the
vehicle was a rental car. Leonard said dealers check to make sure the
VIN on the car and the title match, which the numbers do in the instance
of cloning.
Leonard said he's one of about 1,000 dealers who has fallen victim to
cloning of vehicles that tend to be top of the line -- in Leonard's
case, one Acura, two Cadillac Escalades, two Hummers and a Denali. While
there's not a lot that dealerships can do to prevent cloning, Leonard is
doing what he can to make the situation better for his customers.

But Honda and Acura put the VIN number on the glass and other parts of the
car to help prevent car theives from stipping the car and selling off the
parts.
You going to cover up every location of the VIN number? On the glass you
would have to put tape over it on the outside.

--
Tony
my boats and cars at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

-
"N.L. Eckert" wrote in message
...
This is the text of the article in the Free Press in part.
==================================At least one area automobile dealer
and some residents recently have suffered from one of the latest twists
in automobile theft.
With car cloning, thieves use vehicle identification numbers, or VINs,
of parked cars and put them on a vehicle of the same model that has been
stolen in another state or country. Thieves get documents that make the
stolen vehicle seem legitimate. Cars are then sold to buyers who are
unaware of the fraud until they try to register the vehicles and learn
there's a duplicate.
Jay Leonard, owner of Preferred Automotive Group in Ft. Wayne, where
Weaver bought her vehicle, first heard of car cloning last week when a
friend who bought a vehicle from him called to say police were on the
way to his house to investigate whether his new Acura MDS was stolen.
"I didn't believe it at first," Leonard said. "They said car cloning is
being done by the Russian mafia out of Quebec, Canada."
Fort Wayne Police Detective Joe Hullinger is investigating the cloning,
which he said is being done outside the country. By the time vehicles
are imported to the United States, the cloning is complete, he said.
"We've seen it before and we know where some of it's coming from," he
said. "Everything is forged to look legitimate."
Often cloning is not immediately caught because of a lack of
communication between states.
For instance, people in New York might not know what's happening in
California. Hullinger said he was unable to provide many details because
of the ongoing investigation.
Leonard said police told him between 5,000 and 6,000 cars had been
cloned in Canada. The vehicles were stolen, duplicate VINs used, and
then the cars were shipped to the United States for sale. Seven vehicles
purchased for sale at Preferred Automotive were stolen with fraudulent
VINs, something the dealership could do little about, Leonard said.
Each of the vehicles purchased by the dealer undergoes a 96-point check
and the CARFAX database is reviewed. CARFAX provides vehicle history
records including information such as odometer readings and whether the
vehicle was a rental car. Leonard said dealers check to make sure the
VIN on the car and the title match, which the numbers do in the instance
of cloning.
Leonard said he's one of about 1,000 dealers who has fallen victim to
cloning of vehicles that tend to be top of the line -- in Leonard's
case, one Acura, two Cadillac Escalades, two Hummers and a Denali. While
there's not a lot that dealerships can do to prevent cloning, Leonard is
doing what he can to make the situation better for his customers.

On Sat, 14 May 2005 15:51:02 -0700, "William Andersen" wrote:

So, is your car so special that a thief would take the time to get a key
made for it?
I'm sure thieves know how to start a car without the bother of a key.

Mine is! http://members.cox.net/jherring/pony.html

--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

On Sat, 14 May 2005 15:51:02 -0700, "William Andersen" wrote:

So, is your car so special that a thief would take the time to get a key
made for it?
I'm sure thieves know how to start a car without the bother of a key.

PS. Apparently it's not a huge problem:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/vin.asp
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

N.L. Eckert wrote:
Subject: Fw: VIN #
Hi All
I do not know if this is true or not as I have not checked it out as
yet. But thought it interesting enough to forward and one can do as one
wishes. I received this from a personal friend which I consider
reliable.

It is true that dealers can make keys from vin numbers. It's been that
way for some time now. A few years ago I had a key made this way for an
'89 vehicle because the key I had was too worn to make a duplicate. But
you do need to show proof of ownership before they will do it -
registration, drivers license etc. You can't just walk in off the street
with a vin and get a key.

Bruce