Category Archives: Techniques

Lebanon Car Dealer Indicted For Fraudulent Titles, Falsified Mileage On Dozens Of Vehicles

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Nick Humphrey FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 2014 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Lebanon, Mo., automobile dealer has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a mail fraud scheme in which he sold dozens of vehicles with fraudulent titles that greatly underreported the actual mileage of the vehicles. Kenneth W. Smith, 60, of Lebanon, was charged in a seven-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Aug. 26, 2014. That indictment has been unsealed and made public upon Smith’s arrest and initial court appearance. Smith operates Cars Unlimited in Lebanon. According to today’s indictment, Smith obtained fraudulent replacement titles for dozens of vehicles that were sold by Cars Unlimited between February 2010 and Nov. 7, 2011. Smith (operating through Cars Unlimited) allegedly applied for and received 54 replacement titles from the state of Missouri, each of which underreported the vehicle’s actual mileage between 95,000 and 209,000 miles. Smith allegedly resold these 54 vehicles at auto auctions using the fraudulent replacement titles. These 54 vehicles were sold for an aggregate total of approximately $346,450. Beginning in February 2010, when Smith purchased vehicles (through Cars Unlimited) at auto auctions, the vehicle titles he received showed each vehicle’s actual mileage. After purchasing a vehicle, Smith allegedly submitted an “Application for Missouri Title and License” seeking a replacement title for the vehicle. Although he sought a replacement title, the indictment says, he in fact possessed the original title for the vehicle. In each of those instances, Smith allegedly forged the signatures of the previous owner of the vehicle. The state of Missouri prepared a replacement title that was mailed to Smith at Cars Unlimited. The federal indictment charges Smith with seven counts of mail … Continue Reading

With Smarter Cars, The Doors Are Open To Hacking Dangers

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Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller have been hacking into products for a long time. But they don’t steal stuff or mess with people; instead, their purpose is to pressure companies into making their products more secure. This week, they scored big. Their research on hacking cars has captured the attention of millions and has been featured in Forbes and on the Today show. Miller and Valasek are not the first guys to hack a car, but they demonstrated like few have before just how dangerous these kinds of attacks could be. “That’s really where Charlie and I came in,” says Valasek, a security researcher at IOActive. “We really wanted to see, once someone was inside your car network, to what extent could you control the automobile?” The pair got a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and bought two modern, connected cars: a Toyota Prius and a Ford Escape. Then they tapped into the network of little built-in computers that run on virtually every car sold today. Car makers began embedding electronic control units, or ECUs, in cars more than 30 years ago. These simple little computers were developed during the first gas crisis. Initially, they were used as tiny computerized carburetors. “Engineers figured out that computers were much better at figuring out how to mix gas and air than a mechanical device,” Valasek says. “They were much more efficient and you could get better gas mileage.” But soon these little computers were being used for a lot of things, like cruise control or anti-lock brakes. “Now we’re to the point where cars parallel park themselves,” Valasek says. “And that’s not just magic. There’s computers in the car that have sensors and actuators.” Remote Control Havoc All these little devices talk to each other on an open network. They listen in to … Continue Reading

High-Tech Thieves Use New Gadget To Gain Keyless Access To Vehicles In Long Beach

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LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying three tech-savvy criminals wanted for a series of car burglaries in which they used an unknown device to gain keyless entry to vehicles. The men are accused of breaking into seven vehicles in an East Long Beach neighborhood on the night of Feb. 26, according to Long Beach police. The suspects were caught on surveillance using small handled devices that caused “the vehicle’s dome light to come on and doors to unlock,” Det. Joseph Starbird said in a news release. FULL SURVEILLANCE VIDEO Police believe there could be several other victims who were also burglarized without their knowledge. The LBPD’s Auto Theft Detail has been working with law enforcement agencies nationally and internationally, as well as vehicle manufacturers, to identify the type of technology being used. Thus far, no agency or company has been able to identify the device. “This is a situation where technology is working against us, making our job much more challenging at a time where resources are already strained. Just as law enforcement tactics evolve, so does the criminal element’s and we need the community’s involvement more so than ever,” stated Chief Jim McDonnell. Police recommend residents remove valuables and extra keys from vehicles and install motion lights outside of their homes. Anyone with information on the suspects or their identity should contact Det. Starbird at (562)570-7362. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting http://www.lacrimestoppers.org. Orignal Article: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/04/high-tech-thiefs-use-new-gadget-to-gain-keyless-access-to-vehicles-in-long-beach/

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Tough Questions about whether a man selling a car on-line is guilty of odometer fraud

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COBB COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) – CBS Atlanta News questioned the current owner of a 1995 Nissan Maxima in Cobb County on Wednesday. He’s selling the car on Craigslist for $3,500 and with just 140,000 miles. He bought the car from Stewart Smith a month earlier. Smith said he sold the car with 241,000 miles. “It’s been 10 years since it had 141,000 miles on it,” Smith said. In fact, Smith’s Craigslist posting from July included a photograph of the odometer.  You can only imagine what he thought when he noticed his old car was for sale again with 100,000 fewer miles. “My initial thought was with the lower mileage I certainly hope is a typo and apparently as your investigation found out, it is not,” Smith said. So CBS Atlanta’s Adam Murphy tracked down the new owner and seller of the car to ask him about it. “Did you commit odometer fraud?” asked CBS Atlanta Reporter Adam Murphy. “No I did not, I’m not comfortable with the camera please,” the seller said. “Well I think you have some explaining to do with this vehicle here sir,” Murphy said. The seller could not explain the change in mileage. Smith, on the other hand, showed us an Emission Report from last August showing the car had well over 200,000 miles on it at the time. So CBS Atlanta News called the police, but before they could arrive the two men got in another car and drove off. They were last seen driving off in a golden Lexus, license plate number BPR 7817. “I’m hugely disappointed because obviously there’s criminal intent here with tampering and odometer fraud and misrepresentation,” said Smith. Cobb police are investigating the incident and they are looking for the Lexus the seller drove off in. Original article: http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/19345896/tough-questions-about-whether-a-man-selling-a-car-on-line-is-guilty-of-odometer-fraud

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State shuts down Springfield car dealer during investigation into rolling back odometers

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  SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– A KY3 investigation leads to an investigation by Missouri’s Attorney General’s office. A used car dealership in Springfield — Excel Auto Group, LLC — near Scenic and Walnut Lawn — can no longer operate after being raided on Thursday by the Department of Revenue and the AG’s office. At issue– complaints about rolling back odometers. Julie Schiffner started her search for a car online, and found what she thought was the perfect vehicle for the perfect price. “We asked for a Carfax and he provided it and so we would never have thought to go spend the money then to double check and make sure the one he provided us was correct,” Schiffner said. So they bought it, a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. They had it for two weeks when they got some bad news that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A close friend just happened to run an independent Carfax check for them. “He checked it to see if the timing belt had ever been changed and that’s when we realized that the mileage was completely wrong,” she said. One hundred thousand miles wrong. The Schiffners’ took the car back to Excel, and say they spoke with owner Ashley Bolton, who gave them their money back. But, he gave no apology, and no explanation. Julie turned to KY3 for help. We ran the numbers for ourselves. Six VIN numbers from the cars listed on Excel’s Web-site, according to Carfax, two of them had mileage numbers listed way below actual mileage — one was more than 140-thousand miles off. So we went to ask Ashley Bolton what’s going on at his business near Scenic and Walnut Lawn. He didn’t answer our questions, and kicked us off his property. We had to leave, but investigators from … Continue Reading

Dealer made £100,000 by clocking (Approximately $ 200,000 U.S. Dollars)

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A used-van dealer wound millions of miles off odometers and illegally made over £100,000 (Approximately $ 200,000U.S. Dollars)  in just 10 months, according to Trading Standards Agency (TSA) officers. Maxwell Stuart Alvey, 50, from Gedling Road in Arnold, Notts, pleaded guilty to 10 separate charges of fraud and is now awaiting sentence at Nottingham Crown Court. His then-partner Jane Louise Starbrook was cleared of any involvement in the case at an earlier hearing. TSA officers launched an investigation into Alvey’s business after receiving several complaints regarding unusual wear and tear on vehicles with relatively low mileages. In the worst example seen by the court, Alvey took almost 300,000 miles off the odometer of a Mercedes van. Clocking is one of the most widespread illegal practices found in the used car industry. The fraudulent practice involves using computers or mechanical tools to physically wind back the number of miles displayed on a cars odometer, allowing the dealer to sell the vehicle for a higher price than would otherwise be possible. Buyers of used cars are reminded that careful checking of a vehicle before purchase is a vital precaution, as doing so can allow buyers to avoid cars that are likely to break down or encounter other problems after getting the car on the road. Article found at: http://www.rac.co.uk/news-advice/motoring-news/post/2012/5/dealer-made-100000-by-clocking/

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Making A Federal Case Out Of Odometer Fraud

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You know, not every lawsuit involves complex issues of law – not every case is filled with earth-shattering allegations. Sometimes the law is mundane. However, just because a case involves some familiar allegations and easily understandable facts doesn’t render the matter uninteresting. For example, take the federal lawsuit in the District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against Beau Michael Guidry of Baton Rouge, LA., the owner of Affordable Imports in Denham Springs, LA. According to federal prosecutors, Guidry purchased high-mileage motor vehicles online through eBay and from wholesale automobile auctions in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. At the time that Guidry resold the vehicles at his lot or on eBay, many of the vehicles were over ten-years old. That’s an important milestone as many used car buyers know because Guidry was not required certify in writing the accuracy of the mileage. You may have your heart set on that Ford or GM truck, your kid may need a set of wheels and you’re thinking about a Honda or Nissan — there’s this great deal at the local used car lot or the nearby AutoNation. On the other hand, you saw this great deal on eBay or your next door neighbor says he has a friend of a friend. Hey, you’re a big boy or girl, you know the risks. As long as it’s a fair deal. Yeah, sure — these “as is” sales are the stuff of legend – with caveat emptor being the rule of the road and buyers well advised to have a mechanic check out the auto before handing over the purchase price. More than a few so-called cherries have proven to be held together with chewing gum or rubber bands, or were found floating in some swamp after a hurricane. The funny thing about the lore of … Continue Reading

Mileage rip-off hits thousands of used car buyers

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WIND UP: Used car buyers have been warned to beware shonky sellers who wind back odometers. Source: The Courier-Mail USED car buyers have been warned to beware of shonky sellers winding back odometers, with a report revealing tens of thousands of used cars have been “clocked”. The illegal practice is most common in South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland where one in 100 vehicles has been tampered with, according to consumer vehicle research site carhistory.com.au The site found that in the year to March, just under 1 per cent of used cars it checked had odometers wound back which, if representative of the national used car market, meant tens of thousands of vehicles were being sold under false pretences. Carhistory boss David Scognamiglio said the report indicated that every state had groups of shonky sellers who had evaded detection and prosecution for misrepresenting odometer readings. “Many sellers fail to provide statutory warranties and falsify log books and other documents to car buyers,” he said. “No one wants to buy a car to find out in the next few months that they’ve been ripped off, the warranty is void or they are having issues due to the vehicle’s extensive use.” Individual offenders face up to two years in jail and fines of $40,000 to $60,000, depending on the state, while organisations face fines of about $200,000. Two years ago, Operation Turner collected $400,000 in fines from 13 Queensland offenders detected, Mr Scognamiglio said. Carhistory’s new report uncovered dozens of shocking examples of fraud, including: A Lexus coupe found by a buyer to have been wound back 70,000km. Another motorist lost their $50 deposit after backing out of a sale when they discovered a repairable write-off that should have had a 190,000km reading showed only 125,000km during a test drive. Mr Scognamiglio warned “clocking” … Continue Reading

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Man Pleads Guilty to Odometer Tampering Charges

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Beau Michael Guidry of Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana to three counts of odometer tampering. Guidry, owner of Affordable Imports in Denham Springs, La., purchased high-mileage motor vehicles both online, through eBay, as well as from wholesale automobile auctions in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.  The vehicles’ odometers were then rolled back as much as 147,000 miles.  Guidry subsequently resold the vehicles at his lot in Denham Springs or through eBay to unsuspecting purchasers. Many vehicles were more than 10 years old when Guidry sold them.  Because of the age of the cars, Guidry was not required to sign a disclosure certifying as accurate the mileage on the vehicles that were more than 10 years old.  However, each time he altered an odometer with intent to change the mileage on the odometer, he violated federal law. “Just because a car dealer does not have to certify the mileage on cars he sells, that does not give him a license to roll back odometers,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.  “It is equally fraudulent to roll back a so-called ‘exempt’ vehicle as rolling back a non-exempt vehicle.  With cars remaining in service longer, people rely on vehicles older than 10 years for basic transportation.  These citizens are not fair game for crooked car dealers.” “The odometer tampering statutes were put in place to protect consumers who pay more for used cars, and suffer other financial and potential mechanical harm when odometers on cars are rolled back,” said U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr. of the Middle District of Louisiana.  “The Department of Justice is committed to putting in prison those who steal from consumers and put them in danger by selling cars with rolled … Continue Reading

Flier for illegal odometer service leads to arrests

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According to reports, the Auto Theft Unit learned that fliers were being placed on vehicles at an auction that advertised odometer services. The flier read, “Odometer services, digital or analog, we adjust, correct or replace, any odometer to any miles, we come to you.” The flier included two phone numbers that deputies discovered belonged to Douglas Craig and his son Austin Craig. In April, an undercover officer called one of the phone numbers and spoke with Douglas. The deputy arranged to meet with Douglas to roll back the odometer of a car with 100,000 miles, according to reports. Douglas told the deputy it would cost $125 for the service, reports said. In mid April, the undercover deputy made contact with Douglas again. He agreed to meet in the Walmart parking lot later that day, reports said. Douglas and Austin arrived to Walmart driving a silver 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier. When the deputy asked Douglas about how easy it was to change the odometer readings, Douglas offered to show how easy it was by changing the mileage on his Cavalier, reports said. Austin plugged a device into a service port of the Cavalier and changed the odometer from 5,000 miles to 60,031 miles, reports said. When Douglas and Austin walked to the Cobalt with the device, they were arrested and charged with two counts of tampering with an odometer. http://www.nbc-2.com/story/17525330/2012/04/18/men-arrested-for-tampering-with-odometers

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