Drivers warned of rise in a used car selling scam called the ‘resteal’ – and it is motorists in the North of England who are most likely to fall victim

Drivers are being warned of a ‘worrying increase’ in used car sales – and experts say motorists in the north of England are most likely to suffer.

The ‘resteal’ is a scam in which unsuspecting used car buyers buy a cloned vehicle, only to have it stolen just days later by the people who sold it to them, according to the claims adjustment company for car insurance Claims Management & Adjusting (CMA).

It says criminals then move on to their next victim and repeat the dishonest trick using the same vehicle, changing the identity again.

Motorists have been warned by firm Claims Management & Adjusting of a rise in resteal scams to trick drivers into buying cloned vehicles that are stolen days later

Philip Swift, a former detective and now a director at CMA, says the resteal scam is a combination of theft and fraud that is ‘repeated in quick succession with devastating consequences’.

He warns that criminals are using a range of tactics, including stealing the identity of real cars of the same make, model and color as the car they are advertising, usually at a much lower price than others listed online.

Even if a buyer runs a license plate background check, the details of a legitimate vehicle will be shown and likely won’t raise any red flags.

After purchasing the car for a seemingly good price, the victims will discover within days that the car has been stolen.

This is because fraudsters follow the buyer home, only to return within days to obtain the vehicle with a spare or duplicate key.

Mr Swift says most cases of recovery have occurred in northern England, where specialist gangs try to dupe motorists looking for a good deal.

After purchasing the car for a seemingly good price, the victims will find out within days that the car has been stolen. This is because fraudsters follow the buyer home, only to return within days to obtain the vehicle with a spare or duplicate key

“We live in an age where technology allows a vehicle masquerading as another vehicle – same license plate, apparently correct paperwork – to be discovered with relative ease,” he says.

‘The criminals know this, so they use false identities and regularly change addresses.

“These unscrupulous crooks are leaving a devastation in their wake, both for the innocent buyers and for the owner of the legitimate vehicle whose identity has been copied.

‘The former will have to explain to their insurance company that their new car has been stolen, which immediately sets off alarm bells.

‘The latter may happily drive on if they are stopped and arrested – because the police understandably, but wrongly, think they have found a stolen car; In fact, they arrested a victim of identity theft from a vehicle.”

For scammers who want to make money quickly, the resteal has many advantages.

Scammers will be familiar with the car they are using as bait and therefore know the identity points that need to be changed.

If they know they can deceive a buyer by concealing the true identity of the engine, they expect to achieve success by repeating the process of matching the vehicle with another similar car.

The CMA says it has developed software that automatically flags anything unusual associated with vehicle registration marks (VRMs).

Employees are immediately alerted to suspicious activities and will quickly inform the parties involved.

Five top tips to avoid falling victim to the used car ‘resteal’ scam

Philip Swift, director of CMA

With the recent increase in restealing incidents, Philip Swift has given used car buyers five tips to avoid becoming victims:

1. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is

2. Use official financing channels and never pay in cash

3. Invest in a complete provenance check of the vehicle before purchase

4. Consider installing a tracking device

5. Have your car key reprogrammed at a main dealer, just as you would replace the locks when moving.