Scammers reported my car stolen

Well that sucks. Congrats on the car and hope you get it all sorted out. I've not heard of this one. Usually once they get called out it seems most scammers just drop it. Other than being a pain in the ass what good does it do for them to file a false police report that it's stolen? Insurance scam on top of trying to sell a car they don't own?

Anyway, hope you can drive it in the meantime and enjoy it. If there's anything specific you need the 308 section below here is an amazing resource of knowledge and info. IN fact you might post this there too and see if anyone has any info on the scammer.

 

So it seems it's possible to report the theft of a car without proving to be the owner ??? that's crazy... good luck anyway.

 

I was thinking the same thing: how can someone report a car being stolen without showing proof of ownership? . And what’s the purpose of all of that, because the real owner will eventually prove he/she is the owner (vendetta, …)?

 

Good luck, everyone on the Forum is routing for a quick resolution.

 

I suspect the reason they decided to mess with you by reporting it stolen was because you messed with them by calling and pretending to be a buyer.

Personally, I would have taken a different route and either had an attorney write up a cease and desist letter, or gone straight to the two police departments - your local and their local - and had them deal with it.

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE list the dealer here

Also, besides the Police, why would you not be talking to TX State Dept. etc. in charge of dealer licenses etc.?

I would be HAMMERING them.

Out these POSs right here.

 

From reading the opening post, I'm not so sure there is even a dealership involved. LE06 states that the phone is disconnected and the address is an office building. Sounds like a scammer using a dealership name, either fictional or stealing the name from a legitimate dealership, and also using TOR for their internet connection.

 

I don't know about this. That doesn't look like a scammers website. It looks like a small operation that buys cars and lists them or does it on a consignment/search basis. When I read the first post I thought maybe they were taking deposits and running but this doesn't look like that.

A few points:

The phone number is legit to their business.
They have some dubious reviews.
They post the VIN numbers.
The backgrounds used on the car pictures appear to be similar (could be photoshopped).

On the last point......did your BAT photos match their pictures or the other way around? The reason I am asking is that people reuse photos all the time.

Lots of people in the resale business. As to why someone would list with them as opposed to selling the car on BAT (or Fchat) .....that is a mystery.

As to them reporting it stolen.......I would find out who exactly reported the car stolen, when and where. It is highly unlikely a scammer reports a car as stolen.

Not to question your purchase on BAT but something isn't right.

 

That is a business park. Not a building you would have cars in. It is only a few miles from where I am sitting.

I find his testimonials very suspect. Some of the most famous people in the Austin area are buying cars from a no name operation? I don't think so. Excepting that is Stone Cold Steve Austin who lives in San Antonio.

My bet is hes a fraud and no one in that building knows him.

 

You should be able to get a copy of the police report on the "stolen" vehicle directly from the State of Texas. I would give the Texas State police a call and find out what the process is to get a copy of the report. That's the starting point. Whoever made that claim has to rescind it or be discredited. If you are uncomfortable in doing so......have your attorney do it. They will presume you have the "stolen" property but they probably already know that from your DMV when you tried to register it.

We have had several threads where people have claimed ownership for a variety of different reasons (mechanics lien, consignment etc.) and sold cars and the rightful owners found out about it only after the fact. Keep in mind that a stolen vehicle is usually followed by an insurance claim for the value of the vehicle.

That opens up a much bigger can of worms.

 

There are a lot of 'offices' that are nothing more than a 10' x 10' piece of carpet,
with a desk and two chairs, and a 'Secretary' that answers ALL the phones a
certain way from a script, depending on 'who' is being called.
She could say 'Thank you for calling Fred's Import Cars, how may I direct your call?' to
'Thank you for calling Acme Anvil Company, how may I direct your call?' for a couple
dozen different 'companies'.

One such business was in Lincoln Neb back in 1978 - a friend - a guy that lived
IN THE DORM figured out there was no 'escort service' in Lincoln, so he started one.
Rented a 10x10 space and rented a big-ass billboard on the main road leading from
the airport to Lincoln, and he made a freaking killing at it! At age 19!

THEN, a couple of the 'escorts' went a bit further, and they were busted, and then they (the Cops) came after him.
He knew - but he didn't know, if you know what I mean, he got out of the charges, kept going, I don't know whatever became of it.

And back then there were no cell phones, today you don't even need a 'secretary', just an address that 'looks real'.
But anyway, that's how some 'companies' exist.

 

Why doesn't the law enforcement agency that took the theft report go back and pursue it
with whoever filed it?

Set up a 'sting' and tell them they got their Ferrari back and to come and get it, and then bust them?

 

Pretty expensive rent area for a desk and a phone. I still think no one there has heard of them.

 

The pricing on that 458 gives me pause

 

But that lends credence to those that are not from that area,
'if it's in a high-rent district it must be legit'? when you research it online.
A novice buyer may fall for that...

There is/was an 'exotic car dealer' here in Omaha that almost nobody
has ever heard of, and to be honest I don't know if they still exist,
but 15+ years ago people outside of Omaha heard of them, some on
here did because they would PM me asking me if they existed, and
what they were like.
Seems they had a TR they would advertise, and then pull the ad, and
then put it back out again, and then pull it, the car had a lot of issues
they didn't want to disclose or discuss, so they'd pull it.

They would deal in Porsches, Jags, a Rolls once in awhile, but even
'car guys' here didn't know about them...

********
Back on-topic

Hey but still, it's pretty cheap to rent a 10x10 chunk of carpet, if I recall
I visited my friend's escort service 'office' once, and there were at least
twenty other layouts of the same type of 'operating business' surrounding
his 'office'.

But remember: this was 47 years ago... but I'm sure it is still a working
model today. If you have CRE you try to create revenue any way you can.

Here, we have a TON of businesses that moved into brand-new offices
not even 30 years ago, and today they are or have built totally new
buildings are are moving out of their 'old' ones, leaving them vacant,
PLUS all the buildings laying vacant since Covid, when anyone that
could WFH - did - and many businesses that did never went back to
an office.
My former employer, we had 1,100 people in an office complex, all-but
38 people were sent to WFH, and now the company has bailed out of that
complex and it is largely empty. And they are not the only one.

This is the building we were in, and today they have rented out the bottom
floor of one of these buildings, the rest is empty.

 

If the target was locals they are far too easily found out for the scam they are.

 

For a first world country the US has an archaic vehicle registration and insuring system. I always remember my US relatives driving up to visit us with a piece of paper on their window saying that they were waiting for their licence plates. I can buy plates this morning and go buy new ones in the afternoon if I wanted. No vehicle up here could be reported stolen by anyone other than the actual owner.

 

You can get plates same day here as well.