Vehicle identification number (VIN) cloning, which involves using a VIN from a legally owned vehicle and then reusing it on a similar, stolen, vehicle, is a rising problem in the automotive market. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the reported number of incidents of VIN cloning in the US has risen steadily since 2001, accounting for more than $36 million in fraudulent vehicle transactions.
NICB will use Experian Automotive’s AutoCheck vehicle history reports, which pull from a national vehicle database of more than half a billion vehicles, to check thousands of suspect VINs to identify those most likely to be in use in VIN cloning scams. NICB then investigates the suspect VINs with law enforcement agencies to recover the stolen vehicles.
When a VIN is verified as being cloned, AutoCheck will specifically flag the vehicle’s history report with a cloned designation – the first service of its kind in the industry. Additionally, Experian Automotive will work with individuals whose vehicle’s VIN has been identified as cloned to remove the false vehicle history information from their vehicle history report.
NICB will also provide manufacturer certificate of origin information and vehicle examination records, which will be integrated into the AutoCheck report, providing manufacturer verification on a vehicle’s true VIN, as well as specific information on the condition of stolen vehicles recovered by the NICB.
