Car buyers need to be especially careful: thieves use unprecedented methods

Experts say it’s rare for a buyer to check that the vehicle they’re looking at isn’t stolen before purchasing a car. For example, after checking the technical condition, they completely ignore the databases where it is possible to check whether the car was stolen.

“People often forget to do this. They like the car, they buy it and when they come to us they don’t always manage to register it.”

Therefore, you need to do your homework and research the vehicle. For example, if the car is already registered in Lithuania, the Registros page contains the registration data, which can be verified. You can also check the police database.

Car buyers need to be especially careful: thieves use unprecedented methods

If the car comes from abroad, you can check the open databases of some countries on the “Registry” page. After entering the car data you will find the mileage, technical data and other additional information”, advises Povilas Ruškus, specialist at VĮ Regitra.

To carry out the inspection you need the vehicle identification number. The specialist says that it is easier to find it behind the windshield of the car. It is also engraved on special tables or in various points of the body. Checking this number in the database is the first step. If in doubt, contact the specialists – authorized representatives of the brand – or come to the “Register”.

Mr. Ruškus says there is no need to rush to sign the sales contract. It is better to agree with the seller that the transaction will be completed only if the car is successfully registered. By the way, such offers can help identify a dishonest seller who, fearing negative consequences, may refuse such a condition.

Lawyer Mindaugas Kukaitis warns that the consequences of carelessness can be extremely painful, as a recently purchased car can be stolen from its new owner.

“The buyer does not ensure that the purchased item is sold to him legally and bears partial responsibility because he purchases the item without ensuring that the seller is the rightful owner.”

There have been various cases in judicial practice. Sometimes the court protects the buyer, because if Regitra has carried out a certain check and registered the documents, it also assumes the risk.

However, there are also judicial practices to the contrary, when the registration center only carries out formal registration, and if the data was professionally falsified or there was no way to see that it was falsified in any way, at that moment it is believed that such registration can be canceled,” emphasizes M. Kukaitis.

Detecting counterfeiting is becoming increasingly difficult

Vilius Ramanauskas, head of the Vehicle Investigation Department of the Criminal Investigation Center, says that the first thing thieves try to falsify is the vehicle identification number.

“The identification number can be engraved, hammered or pressed. Forgery also happens this way. For example, one number can be ground and then another can be stamped. A marked part can be changed. It can also be hidden by covering the original with a nameplate.

In most cases everything is done by hand, but sometimes no tools are used at all. However, time does not stand still, and forgers of identification numbers have the latest and most modern machines with which they can engrave the number they need, so it is quite difficult to recognize the fact of forgery with the naked eye,” says V. Ramanaukas.

The specialist warns that thieves and forgers of license plates are getting better at not only changing data, but are also able to apply new methods: parts of a stolen car are installed on the body of a broken or burned car.

“The very definition of identification number says that it is a number used to identify a vehicle. That is, if we enter that number into the manufacturer’s database, we can see that it is a diesel car of the appropriate horsepower in white.

If we only have a body with parts from other vehicles, checking the manufacturer’s database will create complete confusion.

After examining the identification number of such a car, we cannot complain, but all its details belong to a completely different vehicle, and sometimes even to several stolen vehicles,” V. Ramanauskas tells his experience.

Every year, around 300 investigations are conducted into suspected cases of counterfeiting. V. Ramanauskas shows one of the latest cases – a BMW car stolen in Germany.

“This vehicle has already been investigated and is indeed stolen: its identification number is fake. In this case, the identification number engraved on the body was compared with the manufacturer’s database and we received data which after verification revealed discrepancies.

This was followed by a more in-depth investigation. The structure of the paint in the numbering field was checked, and when differences were found, the paint was removed and chemical etching was performed. During the investigation the real number was determined, of which if you look closely you can see fragments,” says V. Ramanauskas.

as, in this BMW, an attempt was made to falsify at least two of them, because it was not sufficient to reforge just the number engraved on the bodywork. In addition, it was necessary to change the table in which the number is repeated.

“In this case we can see that the factory plate is forged, but it was done quite professionally, since the safety elements are visible,” notes V. Ramanauskas.