‘I was making it my forever car,’ cries driver out $40k after losing new vehicle to heartless trick – system failed her

A DRIVER’S dream ride turned into her nightmare after losing the new car due to a heartless trick by a fraudster.

Maria Bauter fell in love with her 2019 Toyota 4Runner, which she planned on turning into her retirement ride.

Boston25News

Boston25News

“It was clean, no accidents,” she told Fox affiliate WFXT-TV .

But she soon became a victim of VIN cloning, a scheme that allows scammers to steal a person’s vehicle identification number from a legitimate car and place it on a stolen one.

The stolen cars are then resold to unsuspecting victims such as Bauter.

“There was no way for her to know that this was actually a stolen car,” said Lt. Jason Hicks of the Washington State Patrol.

Hicks investigates cloned VIN cases for the agency.

Bauter found the SUV on Facebook Marketplace in December 2021 and reached out to the scammer.

The person quickly sent her the VIN, which Bauter checked along with the Carfax.

“It all matched. You know, everything matched up,” she said.

“The title, the VIN number, the name…”

Bauter flew to Portland to buy the SUV, paying $40,000 before taking her phony title to a licensing agency.

At no point was she stopped from getting the proper documentation for her new vehicle.

“Yeah, the system didn’t work like it was supposed to,” said Christine Anthony with the state’s Department of Licensing.

Bauter had the car registered for nearly three years before learning that it had been stolen.

“Whoever did this went above and beyond what’s normally done in these situations to obtain that fraudulent title,” said Hicks.

Bauter’s car had been seized because it was stolen.

“It was very shocking,” she said.

“I had bought new tires and new rims, and, I mean, I was making it my forever car, and I just had to walk away.”

What is VIN cloning?

VIN cloning is when a person steals the vehicle identification number of a legitmately-owned car and puts it on a stolen car.

If a person buys a cloned car and its true origins are revealed, the car will be confiscated and the owner may be responsible for any outstanding loans.

Each car comes with a manufacturer-installed VIN plate that scammers will take off and replace with another one that holds the legitimate number from a car with a similar make and model from a different state.

This makes the car easy to register with a motor vehicle agency in another state.

Once the car is registered, it can be sold to, mostly, unknowing buyers.

Consumers and auto insurers lose millions each year due to this scam.

The US Department of Justice created a database operated by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators that links state DMVs nationwide to shut down car cloning scams.

If a car is titled in one state, a criminal shouldn’t be able to steal its VIN and use it on another car in another state as the database will show that the VIN is already in use.

Consider this to avoid VIN cloning:

• If you think your car might have been cloned, call the police
• When car shopping, be aware of a car being sold for way less than similar makes and models
• Get a copy of the car’s vehicle history report
• Check out the VIN on the dashboard for any tampering
• Look for incorrect spelling on paperwork
• If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is

Source: Vin Audit

Her insurance company, Farmers Insurance, wouldn’t pay the claim, leaving her worried about what’s to come.

“I kept going higher and higher in the company, and they just kept telling me ‘You have no claim.’”

However, after WFXT-TV stepped in and reached out to Farmers Insurance, the company investigated the case and paid Bauter’s claim a few weeks later.

“After all this, they said no, no, no, they finally came through.”

In a statement, Farmers said Bauter’s claim was paid after a thorough investigation.

“The company cares deeply about its customer’s claims.”

Experts are warning drivers to get their car inspected by a mechanic before making a purchase as there are other spots where the VIN can be found.