Why Car Thieves Are Targeting Your Vehicle Registration
Car break-ins are a common crime, with thieves increasingly targeting vehicle registrations for the wealth of personal information they contain. This is a major concern for car owners throughout many areas.
Your vehicle registration includes your full name and address, as well as crucial details about your car itself (license plate, VIN, make, and model). This data is a goldmine for criminals.
“If a thief gets access to your information, they can use it for identity theft,” stated Alex Hamerstone of TrustedSec, a cybersecurity firm.
Your registration can be used for a variety of crimes
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received nearly 8,000 reports of identity theft in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area alone, indicating the scope of the problem.
“The other thing is the registration could be used in insurance fraud … so taking it and filing claims and things like that,” Hamerstone explained. Criminals can fabricate events and file fraudulent insurance claims using your vehicle’s information. Non-medical insurance fraud is on the rise, increasing by 34% last year, according to the FTC.
Car registrations also enable criminals to sell stolen cars overseas.
“They can take the registration and then take a stolen car of the same make and model and color, and then use your registration to wash that other car… and register it legally,” Hamerstone said.
Safeguarding Your Vehicle Registration and Personal Data
While it may seem convenient to keep your registration on your phone, this raises concerns about privacy, as showing it requires an unlocked device.
“There are privacy issues there, and certainly that’s a decision everyone would need to make themselves, but they should consider the ramifications of that,” Hamerstone advised.
It’s also crucial to know about other valuable documents you might keep in your car.
“Some people even keep their title in the car, and that’s certainly a recipe for disaster… If somebody has the title, they can … get an unscrupulous notary and sign that title over to themselves,” Hamerstone said.
Here are some steps you should take to help prevent car theft:
- Keep all valuables out of sight.
- Keep your registration and insurance card locked in your glove compartment.
- Park in well-lit areas.
If your vehicle registration is stolen, it’s important to alert your insurance company and report the theft to the police immediately.
Another consideration: “They (the thieves or vandals) know where you live. And if you have a nice car, they could then assume that you’re going to have nice things worth stealing in your house,” Hamerstone warned.
