Cardiff man loses £13K in ‘really horrible’ automobile clone fraud | EUROtoday

A person who unknowingly purchased a stolen automobile for £13,000, after fraudsters allegedly used a complicated kind of identification theft to “clone” it, is urging others to be vigilant.

Sevak Maljian, 35, made what appeared like a well-researched buy of the Kia EV6 with no concept the automobile was bought to him with reproduction identification paperwork of one other automobile, full with identification numbers and what seemed to be a real DVLA V5C logbook.

“All the details matched… there was no reason to question,” stated the automobile fanatic from Cardiff.

He was advised by police the automobile had been reported stolen and it has now been seized.

The case is being investigated by the Report Fraud service and City of London Police.

Car-cloning will be so simple as stealing quantity plates, however the fraud kind has turn out to be extra subtle, leaving patrons of second-hand automobiles weak.

While there aren’t any official figures for automobile cloning throughout the entire of the UK, motoring organisation RAC believes “it’s increasingly widespread”.

Mr Maljian, a physiotherapist and NHS venture assist officer, stated he first noticed the three-year-old electrical automobile marketed on Facebook in September and, after messaging the vendor, they agreed on an “attractive price” if it was paid for in money.

He travelled to London and met the vendor exterior Putney station on 5 October earlier than viewing the automobile exterior the tackle listed in its DVLA V5C automobile registration certificates (logbook).

As a automobile fanatic who had purchased second hand automobiles earlier than, Mr Maljian believed he had taken each precaution.

“I did all the checks that were recommended by the DVLA,” he advised BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours.

“I started first by checking the MOT, I checked the mileage and then I did the Total Car Check. It showed cleared finance, clear HPI, no accidents.

“All the small print matched together with the mileage, the color, the specs of the automobile.”

The seller also showed him what appeared to be a genuine logbook, complete with watermarks and had matching ID.

“There was no motive to query,” he stated.

Cars also carry a Vehicle Identity Number (VIN) which is stamped into the chassis – the main load-bearing frame of the car – but can also be found on the windscreen, side of the dashboard, or the door jamb.

Mr Maljian said: “I did examine those which might be simply accessible which have been on the entrance windshield and on the door however I didn’t on the chassis as a result of it is often not an accessible place.”

While the all-cash payment rang alarm bells “a bit of”, he was confident that if he did all the checks he would not have anything to worry about.

Mr Maljian said the seller “gained my confidence on each facet” and he drove 200 miles (320km) home to Cardiff without issue.

The shock came days later when he took the car to a local Kia dealership to ask about a faulty button on the key fob designed to access the boot.

Staff realised the key was a forgery and further inspection revealed the VIN on the chassis did not match the one on the windscreen and door.

Police confirmed to Mr Maljian the vehicle had been reported stolen in Kent and seized it.

Mr Maljian, who had taken out a personal loan to buy the car, was left with nothing, and is still having to pay £236 a month to repay his debt.

“I used to be actually in shock,” he stated.

“I’m a sufferer. I misplaced my cash… I’m paying 5 years for one thing I do not personal.”

He says he feels frustrated that multiple security layers, DVLA documents, VINs and key coding systems could be bypassed.

He said he contacted Kia to point out that the car was still under warranty and it should not have been able to bypass the security on such a “excessive worth merchandise”.

A spokesperson for Kia said it was “saddened” by what happened and advised Mr Maljian to continue working with police and the DVLA.

A DVLA spokesperson said: “We perceive how distressing automobile crime will be. To assist scale back the danger of fraud, we encourage patrons to comply with the steerage on GOV.UK comparable to checking automobile identification quantity particulars and confirming the vendor’s identification.

“Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of fraud should contact the police through Report Fraud straight away.”

The case is at the moment being investigated by Report Fraud – previously often called Action Fraud – and City of London Police, who’ve been contacted for remark.

While there aren’t any official figures for automobile cloning throughout the entire of the UK, motoring organisation RAC believes “it’s increasingly widespread”.

Simon Williams from RAC described Mr Maljian’s case as “truly terrible”.

He stated: “Criminals these days go to incredible lengths and they are stealing cars and defeating security systems extremely easily unfortunately.”

He added that Mr Maljian made most of the right checks and he discovered the existence of what seemed to be a real DVLA logbook significantly troubling.

He urged patrons to confirm the vendor genuinely lived on the tackle on the V5C logbook, examine each VIN together with the chassis, and think about shopping for from respected sellers as a substitute.