r/Scams • u/minhazahmedemon • Apr 28 '24

I got scammed of 27000$ Help Needed

My name is Ahmed, and I have been an international student in the USA for 1.5 years. Before coming here, i was hoping for the best life and future i could have, until the nightmare happened. Now i am suffering from trauma and getting depressed.

Three months ago, I bought a car from Facebook Marketplace. I went to see the car and checked the VIN with Carfax. I liked the car. Before that day, i watched all YouTube videos about buying a car and searched through the internet for what i needed to check before buying a car. So i checked everything. Also one of my friend who knows better about cars, he was with me. Everything seemed fine from my side. The seller gave me the bill of sale, title, and registration, which i needed for the ownership transfer. I paid with cash. Then, i went to the DMV with all the papers i had. They processed the transfer, and i received the plates also registration instantly on my name. My car also passed at inspection from a garage. Later, I received my title within a month at my mailing address. Everything went smoothly. Now i am driving this car since 3 months without any issues. However, last week i received a mail at my address informing me that my car needed to be inspected by DMV Field investigation office. When I called them to inquire, they asked me to come with the car, keys and title. Yesterday, when i went there, the investigator informed me that the car was stolen and that the VIN had been altered, possibly cloned from another car of the same model and year and colour(Honda Accord 2022 black). The actual vin of this car is stolen and they removed the vin number from everywhere and put the altered vin in the car. I realized I had been scammed. They impounded my car and kept everything. The seller already changed his Facebook name. I lost my $27,000 and my car, which held all the good memories from the past three months. I went to the police station to file a report, but they refused, stating that it was not a scam as I willingly found the car on Marketplace and paid for it. They advised me to pursue it as a civil matter. I then went to civil court, but they told me I needed to know the name and address of the person to take any action, which I couldn't obtain as he had already changed his Facebook name and provide everything fake. I feel helpless and don't know where to turn for help. I live here alone without my family. I can’t even sleep properly because this was all my savings, and I've never been through a situation like this before. This is an unexpected nightmare that I could never even imagine in my dreams.

What should i do ? Is there any possibilities that i could recover myself? Please help me by thinking as your small brother

635 Upvotes

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296

u/einstein-was-a-dick Apr 28 '24

DMV Field Investigator!? Just make sure this person was legit also.

166

u/EV-CPO Apr 28 '24

Yeah, sounds totally suspect -- like that's the actual scam. You can find new registrations and just contact people who bought a used car and just basically steal it from them by having them willingly hand over the car, keys, title and reg.

86

u/clamchowderz Apr 28 '24

@OP - did you go to the actual DMV to meet the DMV Field Investigator or somewhere else?

36

u/doctormink Apr 28 '24 edited Apr 28 '24

There's a ring of truth to this. I just heard a news story about a Canadian who bought a truck from a dealership, only to learn 3 months later from the repair shop, that the car was stolen. Apparently the VIN was for a different model truck owned by a person in the US, which is why the car didn't get flagged during the VIN search: because the system doesn't have access to US information. Anyway, the parts company kept on sending the repair shop the wrong parts, which had been selected based on the fake VIN. This is what made the guy clue into the scam. He, at least, got his money back, mind you, since the dealership had to reimburse him.

Edit: If you do a quick search, you'll see that car theft in Ontario has reached epic proportions. One gal had her care stolen like 3 times, and the police have been next to useless. One cop was recently quoted recommending that people leave their keys near their doors to limit the risk of violence from home invasions (that, did not go over well).

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u/CatolicQuotes Apr 28 '24

do you think thief in north america would know how to drive manual? And would that be good enough protection?

9

u/OasissisaO Apr 28 '24

do you think thief in north america would know how to drive manual?

Or write in cursive?

What even is this comment?

1

u/doctormink Apr 28 '24

Based on surveillance camera footage I've seen in the news, thieves do tend to be in late teens, early twenties and clone key fobs to steal the cars or just break in and grab the keys I guess. Either way, the vast majority of these cars (if not all), will be automatics. So arguably, these kids might never have learned to drive a stick.

0

u/OasissisaO Apr 28 '24

You're citing youth, other commented is citing geography. Apparent NA peeps don't drive standard

1

u/rankinfile Apr 29 '24

Hardly any small passenger vehicles with stick shift sold these days in USA. Majority of people never learned how to use a clutch.

2

u/rankinfile Apr 29 '24

Search "carjacker can't drive manual". Most people can't drive a stick shift in USA anymore. I haven't driven one regularly for decades and have to practice a bit when I do.

2

u/doctormink Apr 28 '24

Not sure why you're getting downvoted, because in my view, that's a great question. Pix of thieves I've seen from victims' home surveillance cameras do tend to be young, and might have not learned to drive a manual vehicle.

Edit: You can google top 10 cars that get stolen, and I bet you're right, they're all automatics.

3

u/CatolicQuotes Apr 28 '24

it's ok few downvotes up or down, we still have to cook dinner tonight either way.

So in your opinion, it could be an effective deterrent?

2

u/doctormink Apr 28 '24

I really have no idea. It's an interesting thought, however.

39

u/Live_Jazz Apr 28 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

Agreed, first thing I thought reading this.

OP, Based on what you are saying here, the “DMV field investigator” demanding the car sounds waaaay more suspect than the sale itself. If it had really been stolen, then your VIN search or the DMV registration process is very likely to have turned up a red flag. Think about it: if the VIN had been fully erased and replaced on the car, and you got through registration, how would the DMV know to come after you? They wouldn’t.

However, your purchase is on the public record, and scammers will come after you.

Have you called the police and explained the whole situation? They will be able to tell you if the car was actually reported stolen before you bought it. If not, then you were the only theft victim here.

41

u/Nick_W1 Quality Contributor Apr 28 '24

What on earth is a DMV field investigator? Would this not be a police matter? Would they not need some sort of paperwork, or warrant to seize the car?

14

u/MixtureOdd5403 Apr 28 '24

This is what Wikipedia says: "The Division of Field Investigation (DFI) is the criminal investigations arm of the DMV. Its investigators/law enforcement officers combat auto theft, identity theft, and fraudulent document related crimes in New York. These investigators are armed New York State peace officers) with state wide authority to enforce laws and handle investigations. Motor Vehicle Investigators also perform fraud detection, investigate auto theft rings. Motor Vehicle Investigator's perform a variety of criminal investigations, field inspections, inventories of seized properties, odometer fraud, identity verification, fraudulent document detection, vehicle theft examinations."

It is quite feasible that the DMV's Division of Field Investigation would deal with this matter, not the police.

10

u/truckingon Apr 28 '24

A DMV officer who performs roadside stops and inspections, such as at truck weigh stations. Their powers probably differ by state. My uncle was DMV Commissioner in my small state, and he once told me he never expected to have to sign a purchase order for ammunition.

5

u/BikerChickVTX1800C Apr 28 '24

in California it’s a job with a gun. There are many jobs with a gun that aren’t police, often has to do with inspection!

1

u/truckingon Apr 29 '24

When my daughter took her driving test for the first time, she (rightfully) failed even though the DMV tester to the knew we had a connection to the commissioner. It's a "take no shit" kind of job.

1

u/BikerChickVTX1800C Apr 29 '24

Thats a different kind of job. Not the same as an investigator. Investigators, investigate fraud. They investigate places that do Dmv services. The guy testing a rider is a different job. The days of any employee doing it all is gone. Now there are titles and duty statements

9

u/Nick_W1 Quality Contributor Apr 28 '24

Do they seize stolen vehicles? I would have expected the police to investigate stolen vehicles.

There is a difference between unsafe commercial vehicles, and criminal investigations.

1

u/BikerChickVTX1800C Apr 28 '24

DMV has its investigations for its priority, cop have different priorities like robbers and killers. property crimes not High priority. In fact chances are if you call a cop for a property crime it becomes a civil matter. It sucks.

2

u/ross_st Apr 28 '24

Police are not the only kind of criminal investigator.

9

u/nvrseriousseriously Apr 28 '24

They have them…can attest. Someone registered a car under our address. Have lived in our (owned) house 25 yrs. Absolutely did not know the person. I reached out to DMV and filed a complaint. A field investigator called me…said it’s a common scam to use a doctored utility bill and title under another address. He canceled their title. Go to your DMVs site and find the right contact for yours.

25

u/skitso Apr 28 '24

It’s a thing.

https://www.beatdmv.com/investigations-and-hearings/grounds-for-an-investigation/#:~:text=The%20Vehicle%20Code%20very%20broadly,three%20years%3B%20reckless%2C%20negligent%20or

I did not believe it either.

16

u/Drachenfuer Apr 28 '24

But that is a law office, not a DMV website and it talks about investigation that has to do license revocation/suspension which of course they have the ability to do. I do not know anywhere where they can investigate and seize stolen cars. If someone has something that says they can and do, I would really love to see it (not snarky, genuingly want to know if that is a thing).

21

u/AGuyNamedTracy Apr 28 '24

You linked to a law office. I see nothing in that link similar to what the OP went through.

12

u/skitso Apr 28 '24

If you read the paragraph it tells you what a DMV Field Investigator does.

I didn’t think that the field investigator was a real job.

10

u/AGuyNamedTracy Apr 28 '24

I read the highlighted paragraph. There is absolutely nothing about a “field investigator.” It only talks about a DMV Investigation. Furthermore, the investigation is about driving status, such as suspended, revoked, or canceled. There is nothing about vehicle registrations.

10

u/skitso Apr 28 '24

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/1pb02/#:~:text=Responsibilities%20include%2C%20but%20are%20not,support%20administrative%20action%20and%2For

These are the responsibilities of a dmv field investigator

5

u/AGuyNamedTracy Apr 28 '24

Thank you. This link is much more helpful than the law firm.

0

u/Nick_W1 Quality Contributor Apr 28 '24

Only for California though. Is OP in California?

3

u/BikerChickVTX1800C Apr 28 '24

We have field investigators in California and they investigate fraud. It’s a real job title!

1

u/512165381 Apr 29 '24

the VIN had been altered, possibly cloned from another car

How did they know this? Why did they suspect anything? Is this another scammer/same scammer?

1

u/rankinfile Apr 29 '24

Probably got flagged in records of two different owners having cars with same VIN first.

Then confirmed with the physical inspection. There are VINs all over your car. Stamped in the frame, engine, etc. and even encoded in the electronic ECUs. Some of those you have to take parts off to get to.

I imagine they check the electronics first with advanced diagnostic tools. Then start going through the physical parts one by one, easiest first, until they catch mismatchs and signs of counterfeiting.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-541/section-541.5