An urgent message from our Claims Team – Vehicle theft set up scheme:
During the Spring and Summer of 2020, there have been several vehicle theft claims reported where customers respond to advertisements in Craigslist or on Facebook promising work. The customers are promised as much as $500 to drive down to San Diego (Chula Vista) and use their car to transport some merchandise, people, or money to Los Angeles. When the customer shows up at the location provided by the perpetrators, some are forced to part with their car by gunpoint. Others are told that the car needs to have the money or merchandise hidden in the car and the owner is told to wait while that occurs. The perpetrators drive the car off, and the car is not seen again and the calls to the prospective employer are not answered.
The cars are then taken to Mexico where the VIN is switched, and they are resold in MX or back in the U.S.
The San Diego police arrested one set of perpetrators who were responsible for scamming 16 victims. However, the scam is continuing even after those arrests. The most recent Aspire claims involving this scheme are from August 2020.