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Car theft using VIN
almost impossible

Question: I received the following from a California friend: "Seems that car thieves have found yet another way to steal your car or truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN (vehicle identification number) from the label on the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key based on the VIN. I didn't believe this, so I called a friend at a car dealership and pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN, and they would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless device if I wanted. The car dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He doesn't have to break in, do any damage to the vehicle or draw attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert the key and off he goes to a local chop shop with your vehicle. You don't believe it? It IS that easy. To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape across the VIN Metal Label located on the dash board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief. I urge you to forward this to your friends before some other car thief steals another car or truck. I slipped a 3 x 5 card over the VIN." Any truth to this?

Answer: This is another example of an urban legend, albeit one that has some truth to it, according to two Web sites devoted to taking apart a host of dire warnings spread far and wide via e-mails.

But to give you an idea of how far-fetched it is, the Honolulu Police Department actually advises people to etch VINs on windshields/windows. More on that later.

We found variations of the warning posted on www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/vin.asp and urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_car_thieves_vin.htm.

The latter notes that the VIN warning has been around since February 2003 and rates its status as "overblown."

It said there had been one publicized case of an auto theft ring, in 2002, using a similar ploy to steal vehicles from used car lots, but that it was a complicated and time-consuming scam and "not the most likely way a thief might try to steal your car."

It noted a TV station in Pittsburgh showed that the ploy could work, but that by now, car dealers are aware of the scam. It also noted that some states prohibit covering the VIN.

HPD's Lt. Henry Nobriga, of the Criminal Investigation Division, says emphatically that it's "false, false, false" that car dealers will give you a set of keys if you just walk in and show them a VIN.

"One, you have to prove that you own the car; two, just walking in off the street doesn't assure you a set of keys; and finally, the cost is prohibitive -- usually in the neighborhood of $300," he said. "Any self-respecting thief would just steal your car and change the ignition, which is a lot cheaper."

Nobriga said that when a vehicle is manufactured at any of the large plants, several keys are made for it.

"By providing the vehicle identification number to your vehicle, (dealers) can track the set of keys and provide you with another set," he said. The 17-digit VIN identifies the plant it was made at, what extras were added into the vehicle (airbags, etc.) and when it came off the assembly line, he said.

"Covering the VIN plate will not affect the outcome of your vehicle being stolen or not," he said. "In my more than 15 years with the Criminal Investigation Division, I have never heard of anyone just walking into a dealer armed with only a VIN number and obtaining a set of keys for someone's car."

HPD, like many police departments across the country, recommend VIN etching as a way to prevent car thefts, Nobriga said.

He explained that every time a vehicle is stolen, thieves try to disguise the vehicle's identity -- by switching license plates, removing or covering the VIN on the dashboard, and destroying any identification marks.

Having the VIN etched onto the window or windshield allows for easy identification by police and dissuades thieves who would have to replace the glass at considerable cost before they could sell the stolen vehicle.

Nobriga said most car dealers offer the etching for $150 to $400. But many police departments, including HPD, will do it for free as a public service.

HPD offers VIN etching in communities across Oahu "from time to time," said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

"Nothing is currently scheduled, but car owners can check HPD's Web site at www.honolulupd.org for future dates," she said.

Q: In the past weeks, I have noticed that there is a definite dip in the roadway when driving in the two right lanes, just past the Pearl City exit on the H-1 freeway, Ewa-bound. The dip seems to be getting increasingly severe, and I would like to see if someone from the Transportation Department can investigate the deterioration of the roadway before it becomes a hazard.

A: Good observation.

Initial inspections by the state Department of Transportation indicated there may be a broken drainage pipe beneath the area of the dip.

The Highways Division is trying to schedule overnight repair work for sometime in the coming week, according to DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

The repair will require closing the Pearl City offramp "and obviously some digging to reach and repair the problem area," he said.

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