HOUSTON – Four GMC Denali trucks, valued at more than $220,000, were recovered in Hays County as part of an investigation into VIN cloned stolen vehicles.
Between April 4 and April 9, the Hays County Sheriff’s Auto Theft Unit, in coordination with the Hays County Tax Assessor’s Office and other law enforcement partners.
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“These deals [were happening] on Facebook Marketplace,” said Detective Matthew Hayles of the Hays County Sheriff’s Office. “We went out to inspect the vehicles and discovered they were stolen.”
Your vehicle identification number (VIN) is like a social security number, unique to your car. Just like your social, thieves are using VINs to steal your vehicle’s identity.
VIN cloning is a tactic used by criminals to disguise stolen vehicles. They copy the VIN from a legally registered car and apply it to a stolen one.
“One of the vehicles we recovered was stolen out of Houston PD,” Hayles said. “The second one was out of Harris County Constable Precinct 3.”
The investigation began after the Hays County Tax Office received tips about suspicious vehicle titles. This led the Hays County Sheriff’s Auto Theft Unit to inspect multiple vehicles, revealing they had cloned VINs and were, in fact, stolen.
“Went out to inspect the vehicles and discovered they were stolen,” said Hayles. “Whenever [victims]... register their vehicles it doesn’t go through at the tax office.”
Hayles told KPRC 2’s Zorrie Jones, suspects were stealing high-end vehicles, forging documents, and selling them to buyers online.
“The person not suspecting anything will go to the tax office and try to register the vehicle where they’ll be told that it’s fictitious." said Hayes.
Hayles emphasized that VIN cloning creates a chain of victims.
“There are multiple victims in this crime,” he said. “The person whose truck was stolen and the person who unknowingly bought it. Sometimes insurance may be able to step in, but it depends on the policy. It’s case by case.”
Hayles told KPRC 2 that the investigation remains active and we will be following this story as we receive more information.
🔒 How to Protect Yourself When Buying a Used Car Online
Hayles recommends the following precautions:
- 🚩 Be wary of high-dollar cash deals.
- 🧾 Meet the seller at the tax office to confirm documents are legitimate before the deal.
Leah Napoliello, Vice President of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), shared additional consumer tips:
- Watch out for too-good-to-be-true deals. They are most likely a scam. Scammers often steal consumers’ personal information and money by offering them high-value goods at extremely discounted prices.
- Be cautious about wiring funds, completing bank-to-bank transactions, or paying with cash apps, prepaid debit cards or gift cards. Scammers love this kind of transaction because you cannot get your money back once it is completed. Instead, make legitimate purchases by credit card, if you can, as you have a better chance of disputing the charges and getting your money back that way.
- Contact the seller by phone. During your negotiations, speak with the sales manager on the phone. If they are unusually vague about specific details of the sale or cannot confirm their location or the vehicle’s location, it’s most likely a scam.
- See the car first. Never buy a car without making an in-person inspection and taking a test drive first.
- Don’t give in to pressure. Scammers often pressure you to give up your personal information or make a down payment before you have time to consider the purchase. Take your time and think a deal over before agreeing to anything. If you get a bad feeling, listen to your gut.
- Don’t trust a seller or buyer who says the transaction is “guaranteed” by eBay, PayPal, Craigslist, or another online marketplace. These sites explicitly explain they cannot guarantee that people using their services are legitimate. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.
- Notify the online marketplace if you have been scammed or if there are any issues, so they may investigate further to see if the seller should be removed.
