• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Go that extra mile with a smile
      Improving the promotional process for supervisors
      Developing an ethics-centered police department
      Leadership without the family factor is not leadership
      Prozac saved my career, and possibly my life
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Go that extra mile with a smile
        Improving the promotional process for supervisors
        Developing an ethics-centered police department
        Leadership without the family factor is not leadership
        Prozac saved my career, and possibly my life
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Off duty, but never off guard
        The tyranny of memories
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Empowering through experience
        Getting ahead of the story
    • On the Job
      • No case too cold
        Summer is coming
        Securing the Texas border one K-9 team at a time
        Empowering through experience
        Philadelphia Amtrack officer’s quick actions saves conductor’s...
    • Labor
      • Insufficient police staffing continues throughout the U.S.
        The righteous battle
        Recruitment and retention
        Austin police chief aims to end officer shortage as recruitment...
        Dallas City Council approves increased hiring goal for police...
    • Tech
      • Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
        Is AI the future of report writing?
        Interagency communication in the age of email, YouTube and Zoom
    • Training
      • Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
        Duty knives: Practical or just “tacticool”
        Dry-fire practice doesn’t need to be boring
    • Policy
      • Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
        Dakota’s Law: Pensions for police dogs?
    • Health/Wellness
      • Avoiding the road to burnout
        Texas sheriff’s office hit with series of suicides
        The tyranny of memories
        “Why are you mad at me?”
        Tired of being tired?
    • Community
      • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
        A local problem with a statewide solution
        From traffic stops to tip-offs: Iowa officer becomes basketball...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
        A dream of remembrance
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • No case too cold
      Summer is coming
      Securing the Texas border one K-9 team at a time
      Empowering through experience
      Philadelphia Amtrack officer’s quick actions saves conductor’s...
  • Labor
    • Insufficient police staffing continues throughout the U.S.
      The righteous battle
      Recruitment and retention
      Austin police chief aims to end officer shortage as recruitment...
      Dallas City Council approves increased hiring goal for police...
  • Tech
    • Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
      Is AI the future of report writing?
      Interagency communication in the age of email, YouTube and Zoom
  • Training
    • Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
      Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
      Duty knives: Practical or just “tacticool”
      Dry-fire practice doesn’t need to be boring
  • Policy
    • Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
      Dakota’s Law: Pensions for police dogs?
  • Health/Wellness
    • Avoiding the road to burnout
      Texas sheriff’s office hit with series of suicides
      The tyranny of memories
      “Why are you mad at me?”
      Tired of being tired?
  • Community
    • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
      A local problem with a statewide solution
      From traffic stops to tip-offs: Iowa officer becomes basketball...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
      A dream of remembrance
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Tech

Texas vehicle crime task force sounds alarm on increase in fraudulent online vehicle sales

APB Team Published April 14, 2023 @ 6:00 am PDT

iStock.com/Fahroni

The Heart of Texas Auto Theft Task Force has observed a significant surge in online fraudulent sales of vehicles this year made via online platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.

Lieutenant Howard Stinehour, commander of the vehicle crime task force, explains that the fraudsters create fake profiles and use false or stolen information to lure potential buyers with a deal on luxury SUVs or trucks that seems “too good to be true.”

Once the fraudsters make the sale, they drop the page, leaving the buyer with a stolen vehicle, no title and out of the cash they paid.

In many cases, the sellers create temporary profiles and use “borrowed” or fake vehicle identification numbers (VIN) that actually belong to other vehicles.

“Some buyers will do a little bit of research, CARFAX, things like that, and they’ll see that it’s for a true vehicle, it matches a 2021 GMC Denali, so they think everything’s fine,” Stinehour said. “But that’s not really the actual VIN number.”

Stinehour notes that the majority of the vehicles sold fraudulently are coming from Houston, but they can end up being sold all over Texas.

In some cases, fraudsters use a stolen identity to sell a car purchased online from a dealership.

According to Automotive News, a poll by eLEND Solutions of more than 700 dealerships revealed that 79% suffered an identity fraud-related loss in 2022.

The poll found that 60% lost at least three vehicles due to identity fraud.

eLEND Solutions CEO Pete MacInnis said that the pandemic has been a driving factor behind fraud in the vehicle industry. “Economic conditions and, especially, increasing digitization of the car buying process are driving more fraud but, unfortunately, this report reveals that most dealerships have not implemented ID verification technologies that can prevent it,” he explained.

Oftentimes, victims only realize they have been scammed when they apply for a new title for the vehicle in their name.

Stinehour added that the trail of victims can become complicated, with the original victim of the vehicle theft, the victim who paid for the vehicle and the victim whose identity was used on the fake title.

To avoid becoming a victim of these scams, potential buyers are advised to ask for as much information as possible ahead of time and verify the VIN provided with the DMV online. Always be cautious of prices that seem too good to be true. The best way to ensure a sale is legitimate is to conduct the exchange at the local tax office.

“If it’s a true deal, they’ll do it the right way,” Stinehour said.

Categories: Tech Tags: fraudster, Texas, Houston, fraud, task force, online, auto theft, vehicle sales, stolen identity, Howard Stinehour

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
  • Avoiding the road to burnout
  • National Police Week 2025
  • A look into National Police Week
  • Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • What’s with the white chairs?
  • The pain and sorrow of loss
  • A cop and his car
  • No case too cold
  • Texas sheriff’s office hit with series of suicides

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Off duty, but never off guard

Off duty, but never off guard

May 05, 2025

The tyranny of memories

The tyranny of memories

May 04, 2025

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

May 02, 2025

Empowering through experience

Empowering through experience

April 18, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.