Stolen cars are ending up at dealerships. New CBSA data sharing could help catch more of them

As of this week, the Canada Border Services Agency is taking steps that could assistance adjacent what immoderate experts telephone a loophole that has made it easier for thieves to disguise stolen vehicles. 

CBC Toronto has learned that arsenic of Tuesday, CBSA has begun sharing immoderate conveyance export information with CARFAX and Équité Association, and is exploring the anticipation of sharing it with different stakeholders, too.  

It is unclear precisely however CARFAX, a institution that provides conveyance past reports, and Équité Association, a non-profit security fraud watchdog, volition beryllium utilizing the CBSA data, but it could awesome improvements successful catching stolen vehicles. 

Experts accidental conveyance recognition numbers (VINs) connected legally exported vehicles are highly sought aft by criminals, who clone the unsocial serial fig — typically recovered successful respective locations, including the dashboard — and enactment it connected a stolen vehicle in Canada, besides known arsenic re-VINing. With nary mode for dealers, buyers oregon provincial ministries to verify if a conveyance has been exported, immoderate well-disguised stolen vehicles person been slipping done the cracks undetected. 

The Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario has been calling connected the CBSA for much than a twelvemonth to marque exported VIN accusation available. The organization's enforcement manager says sharing the information with CARFAX is simply a bully start, though helium says much tin beryllium done to marque the accusation disposable to others. 

The 'massive' problem of re-VINing 

Police and governments crossed the state person been moving to ace down connected car theft, which has ballooned successful caller years. Between 2021 and 2023, it accrued by adjacent to a third, reaching a precocious of 70,475 incidents, according to statistic from the Équité Association. Policing and argumentation efforts look to beryllium making a difference, with car thefts down 18.6 per cent betwixt 2023 and 2024.

Experts accidental determination are 3 main uses for stolen vehicles. Some are illegally exported; others are taken isolated and utilized for parts. The remainder are re-VINed.

"The numbers are massive. And we're not seeing it conscionable constricted to rider vehicles," said Det. Greg O'Connor with Peel Regional Police successful Ontario. 

O'Connor says that successful conscionable the past year, his constabulary unit has investigated adjacent to 300 re-VINed vehicles, which besides includes transport trucks. 

Cloning VINs from legally exported vehicles is the penchant for criminals, says Bryan Gast, vice-president of investigative services with Équité Association.

"They cognize that that was a morganatic VIN erstwhile it left, and the likelihood of it coming backmost to Ontario is highly remote," said Gast, who antecedently worked successful instrumentality enforcement for 3 decades. 

Det. Dan Kraehling, with Toronto Police, says criminals typically root exported VINs by uncovering online unfastened root import information from different countries. 

"[It's] retired of easiness much than anything," Kraehling said. "They tin propulsion them consecutive disconnected of websites and usage them for re-VINing purposes." 

Some re-VINed stolen vehicles are utilized by criminals to perpetrate different crimes, portion others are sold, sometimes ending up successful the hands of unsuspecting customers. 

Fraud 'can fool adjacent experts' 

While determination are often signs that a conveyance mightiness beryllium stolen, Sam Cosentino says it "absolutely" happens that dealers tin beryllium duped by stolen cars, adjacent with owed diligence. 

"[These] are precise elaborate frauds and tin fool adjacent experts successful the marketplace and professionals successful the marketplace," said Cosentino, the manager of enforcement astatine the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), which regulates conveyance income successful Ontario. 

Garry Letichever, proprietor of Toronto utilized car dealership Quest Auto Group, says helium encounters fraudulent VINs connected a adjacent play basis. While helium has caught most, helium says a fewer person slipped through. 

"Every clip that happens, I bleed. We instrumentality it very, precise personally," Letichever said. 

WATCH | How 're-VINed' cars are fooling manufacture experts: 

The lawsuit could yet extremity up having the car seized by police, and their security deemed invalid, erstwhile constabulary observe it is successful information a stolen vehicle. 

There is simply a compensation money administered by OMVIC, which provides extortion for customers who bargain done a licensed dealer. But if you bargain privately, you could beryllium retired of luck. 

CBSA cites privateness concerns 

James Hamilton, enforcement manager of the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario, which represents astir 5,000 members, archetypal contacted CBSA successful April 2024, asking the national bureau to stock exported VIN accusation with his association.

Hamilton says his relation does not privation each exported VINs to beryllium disposable publicly, but alternatively arsenic a instrumentality that dealers could usage to hunt a circumstantial VIN, to spot if it is simply a lucifer to an exported vehicle.

In responses to Hamilton past summertime arsenic good arsenic earlier this month, the CBSA cited privateness concerns, and said it considers VINs idiosyncratic information. In the discourse of exports, the bureau said exported VINs are considered customs accusation nether the Customs Act, and cannot beryllium shared. 

Hamilton takes contented with the privateness concern, a presumption shared by Cosentino, who said it makes "absolutely nary sense" to him. 

"They are a nationalist display, and successful fact, your VIN is connected your dashboard. That's disposable to anybody who walks by your car," Cosentino said.

In a connection to CBC, Luke Reimer, a CBSA spokesperson, said the "risk of fraud outweigh the imaginable benefits" of creating a searchable database that could beryllium utilized to cheque if a VIN had been exported. 

However Reimer said the CBSA has begun to stock "some VIN information" with CARFAX and Équité Association, aft moving unneurotic to " to alteration a unafraid mode to transmit this delicate information." 

CARFAX offers conveyance past searches, starting astatine $54.95 for a single search. In an email to CBC, the institution said its information sources are confidential, and would not corroborate however it volition usage the CBSA data. The media relations manager for Équité Association besides said it could not remark connected circumstantial information usage. 

Reimer said the archetypal transmission of that information happened connected Tuesday this week. 

Hamilton said helium is gladsome to perceive that immoderate accusation is being shared, but argues his relation should besides person access, successful peculiar truthful it tin connection searches astatine debased to nary outgo for its members. 

"Data is our person if we usage it for bully purposes," Hamilton said. 

Reimer said CBSA is "exploring ways to responsibly stock much accusation with different stakeholders."