Buyers of used cars urged to check identification numbers

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Law-enforcement officers are urging prospective buyers of used cars to examine the vehicle identification numbers before completing their purchase.The appeal comes from Detective Sergeant Dave Francis of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Stolen Motor Vehicle Unit, while speaking on the Police Civilian Oversight Authority (PCOA) ‘Citizens’ Corner’ podcast.Francis said criminals continue to disguise stolen vehicles as legitimate and revealed some checks carried out by law enforcement.“If we were to stop that vehicle out on the road, first thing we are looking at is the chassis number, then the engine number, and we are looking at the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) tag,” he said.Francis explained that the VIN acts as the main record of a vehicle’s identity. It is an alphanumeric code, including both numbers and letters, and it is intended to be unique to a single vehicle.He noted that the location of a vehicle’s identity number varies based on vehicle age. Older vehicles are fitted with a rectangular metal plate, often found under the car’s bonnet. Newer cars have a paper tag that may appear on different parts of the vehicle, but most frequently on the door jamb.“The VIN carries the identification of the vehicle itself. It has the chassis number. It has the engine number. It has the manufactured date, and it has the colour,” he explained.When a vehicle’s identification is suspected to be tampered with, it is seized and handed over to a Serial Number Restoration Unit expert for forensic examination.Francis said the expert restores the vehicle’s original chassis number through a process known as etching, which is then checked against records of vehicles previously reported stolen.He pointed out that vehicle fraud can also take a more elaborate form known as ‘car cloning’.“Car cloning is when you have two vehicles exhibiting the same characteristics. Like the same colour, licence plate, chassis number, engine number,” he said.With an increase in car thefts in Jamaica, Francis encouraged buyers to pay special attention to a vehicle’s identification number to spare them the legal complications that come with purchasing a stolen car.— JIS