Attack of the Clones
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The car may be exported, but its cloned VIN can stay behind to cover illegal traffic in stolen or salvaged cars — as Carfax found out with some help from PIERS intelligence.
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| "While hundreds of thousands of motor vehicles are legally exported from the U.S. each year," says Richard Guerin of Carfax, a provider of vehicle history reports, "VINs from these vehicles may be cloned and used for other, illicit purposes." Guerin explains that the counterfeit VINs — vehicle identification numbers — may be used to disguise |
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| stolen or salvaged vehicles in the U.S. while their original holders are shipped overseas. Or the VINs are exported to counterfeiters abroad, while the vehicles enter gray markets here at home.
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One thing is certain, says Guerin, VINs attached to vehicles declared as exports continue to show up in the records here long after they officially left the country. A 2004 Carfax study, based in part on PIERS trade data, estimates counterfeit VINs may cover losses to consumers and insurers of more than US$6 billion over the last decade.
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"We compared PIERS vehicle maritime export information, which includes VINs, against our Carfax Vehicle History database to uncover any post-export-date records of U.S. activity with the vehicles, such as new titles, safety and emissions inspections, maintenance, and stolen vehicle records."
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PIERS reports slightly more than four million automobiles exported from the U.S. by ship since 1992 [through 2003]. Over one-half million of the exported VINs — nearly 15% of the total — appear in the Carfax history records post-export. Some small portion of these may have re-entered the U.S. market legally, notes Guerin, but the majority appear to be used to conceal illicit trade.
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Carfax also analyzed its customers' inquiries about the pedigree of cars for sale and estimates as much as 2% concerned vehicles with exported VINs. Similarly, reports of stolen vehicles carrying the suspect VINs — both before and after the declared export date — suggest yet another avenue for fraud.
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Carfax has developed alerts directing customers who inquire about VINs with conflicting histories to contact law enforcement, Guerin adds, noting that the year-old program has been instrumental in recovering more than $1 million in stolen vehicles. Carfax also works directly with state and federal law enforcement agencies and insurance companies to assist in investigations.
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A special feature of PIERS trade data is that it includes VINs, says Patrick Reynolds, PIERS business development manager, who worked with Carfax to obtain the data needed for its study. Reynolds has also helped carmakers and distributors use import-export data to detect diverted shipments and gray market sales.
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