SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Police are reporting a significant increase in cases of people buying stolen vehicles online and not even knowing.
Recently, investigators have been tackling several cases a week. Most of the time it's too late for the victims because they lose their money and even the car.
Vehicle Crimes Unit SAPD Detective Washington Moscoso said comparing numbers to last year, there's been a nearly 20 percent jump in these cases in 2020.
Detective Moscoso said a major red flag is the vehicle being sold way undervalue. For example, he said a San Antonio woman bought a 2017 Cadillac Escalade that retails for nearly $50,000 for only $18,000.
"If it is too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true," he said. "They are paying cash. And they get a title. They leave. And then they never hear from that person again."
Detective Moscoso said the victim discovers the vehicle is stolen when they try to register it with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. He said the majority of the cases, people from San Antonio are buying vehicles that have been stolen out of Houston.
"They come to San Antonio or the DMV to register their vehicle they found out the title is fake," he said. A little research they find out the vehicle is stolen."
Detective Moscoso said there are a couple of ways to spot a fake and a real vehicle title. He said the paper of the title should almost feel like money. Secondly, the biggest clue is that the title should have a watermark, for example of the state of Texas.
He said what is unfortunate, in these cases, the victims are left with no money and no car.
"These are honest hard-working people that were trying to do the right thing," he said. "They just thought they got the deal of their lifetime."
Detective Moscoso said he recommends a buyer also check the VIN number of the vehicle to make sure it is legitimate. He recommends the VIN check from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Click here for the VIN Check.
Click here for other steps before buying a vehicle.
He also said if you are dealing with meeting the seller, he suggests making the exchange at 'Safe Zones' which are located at several San Antonio Police substations.
He said in most of the cases the seller wants just cash, which he said is a red flag.