PSA: Car Cloning Modus Operandi

PUBLIC SERVICE CASE STUDIES:

Below, an E-mail from a Fan of my Blog, Mr.C:

"Hi, I am no sure if you can help me but i am going to tell my story to you.

A friends of my bro said he is able to bring in Singapore car and register in Malaysia as legal car, which i believe this is not possible under legal way..

he manage to pursuit my bro to buy a Subaru Impreza WRX 2.0 for RM70K.

He said he is able to come out with the document to make this car legal.

1st he asked 20K from my bro for down payment in order to get the car out from port.

he collected 20K from my bro and my bro got the car with "temp" plate no and Green Card / Grant.


initially they asked my bro to apply for car loan to settle the remaining 50K and he will proceed with the Legal Document and Car Plate no but my bro refuse to apply loan and wish to pay in cash.

so he collected another 5K to kick start the legalizing the document.

1st 5K is for AP
2nd 10K for "JPJ" to change the engine no to malaysia engine no and legal car plate
3rd another 10K to create legal Green Card or Grant
4th 10k to settle the remaining document which he haven't mention.

is this possible? or my bro been cheated?"


Jefferson Lim's Reply:  

Your brother is cheated.  The Scammer is "Cloning" an existing Subaru WRX car.  Yes, this process is called "CAR CLONING". 

Here's an article regarding this case...  SOURCE: New Straits Times 26 October 2014.

Cops bust car ‘cloning’ syndicate

26 OCTOBER 2014 @ 8:08 AM

KUALA LUMPUR: Police broke a car theft ring specialising in “cloning” vehicles after they nabbed 12 men and seized 12 cars worth RM1.3 million recently.

Among those arrested were six motorists, including a school teacher, who bought the stolen cars after being offered very low prices by the syndicate.

Sentul police chief Assistant Commissioner R. Munusamy said the suspects aged between 20 and 50 were arrested at several locations in Tanjong Karang, Kajang and Cheras in Selangor during a series of operations between Oct 14 and Friday.

Among the recovered vehicles were Toyota Alphard, Toyota Estima, Toyota Fortuner, Honda City, and Toyota Vellfire, which were reported stolen in Selangor, Perak, Pahang and here.

He said the syndicate cloned the vehicles after acquiring details, including registration, engine and chassis numbers, of legitimate cars of the same models and colours.

“It was a tactic to avoid the authorities and buyers’ detection, as the stolen cars would then have the cloned details installed on them.

“The syndicate members would then send images of the cloned cars to their friends and offered prices that were very low compared to the market values. The price cut was offered on the pretext that the cars were taken from owners who failed to settle their bank loans or imported from Singapore,” he said here yesterday.

He said buyers were given counterfeit car grants and road tax stickers which made the vehicles they bought appear legitimate.

The prices offered were said to be so attractive that the syndicate managed to easily lure buyers.

It is learnt that a cloned Toyota Vellfire was sold to the teacher for only RM60,000, compared with the model’s market value of around RM200,000.

Munusamy said the syndicate members had the expertise and equipment to print counterfeit road tax stickers which were of similar quality to those issued by the Road Transport Department (RTD).

“The buyers are also being detained to facilitate investigations as they bought stolen property which is a criminal offence. I would like to advise the public to be aware when being offered vehicles for very low prices, as these kind of offers were usually given for cars which were either stolen or evaded tax.”

A source close to the investigations said police were looking into the possibility that the syndicate had help inside the RTD.

Investigators believed that this was the case as the syndicate could easily acquire specific information on cars which they wanted to clone, including chassis and grants details.

END OF SOURCE...

Hope this Public Service announcement (PSA) helps.  That's all folks, thanks for having the time and patience to read this blog entry.

Security in Car Parks SHARING IS Caring

Security in Car Parks

SHARING IS Caring: 

Security in Car Parks 

1. Always sensitive to surrounding conditions. Do park your vehicle at a distance if it is safer or nearby the lift, better safe than sorry. SAFETY's FIRST. 

2. Ask for the assistance or security guard to accompany you to the car park if the environment is dark or feel action is more secure. 

3. Make a habit to review the situation in the vehicle before entering. Although the possibility of a stranger is in your vehicle is small, but the act of showing your level of vigilance against any form of crime. 

4. Make sure you are ready with the keys in hand before approaching the vehicle. Avoid seen looking for something in the bag when in public places.  Else, indirectly provide opportunities for criminals to take advantage of you. 

5. Encouraged to act after entering the vehicle is to lock the door before starting the engine. Try to avoid delays, time in the open space and immediately left after business is finished.

SOURCE: Selangor Police.  Translated from Bahasa Malaysia.

Here's a link to a post about Chin Xin-Ci's narrow escape from being Kidnap @ The Curve, Mutiara Damansara.  She got mentioned some tips of how to escape the abductors.
1) http://www.kinkybluefairy.net/2012/05/girl-escapes-kidnapping-the-curve-mutiara-damansara/

2) https://www.facebook.com/notes/chin-xin-ci/30-hours-ago-i-escaped-from-being-kidnapped/10150980821959859

Here's an excerpt by Chin Xin-Ci:

"From this moment on, there were a few crucial things that happened that I think is the reason I’m alive today.

1. I managed to get into a position to escape.

 When they got into the car, the Indian man had tried to force my body down onto the floor. I knew that the moment I’m on the floor, there would be no chance of escape. So I begged him to let me sit up. I promised him I wouldn’t scream or alert anyone’s attention. Thankfully, he trusted me, and let me sit up, gripping my arm tightly. Then I told him my arm really hurt and to please not grip it so hard. He loosened his grip.

2. I did not fight for the sake of fighting.

 I was in an enclosed space, with no clear escape route. I would never win in a fight with these 2 guys, especially when they have sharp weapons. Had I fought from the get go, I may not have been in a position to escape. I might’ve even been knocked out cold, and God only knows where I would be right now.

3. I was lucky and sneaky.

I knew that the only way to escape, was to jump out of the car, even if it was moving. They had locked the car doors. So I leaned back, pretended to scratch my hair, and shakily unlocked the door I was leaning against. I’m so lucky they did not see or hear this!

4. I went ‘crazy’ at the right time.

And then I waited. I knew that the car would have to slow down outside the parking lot, as it exits to merge with the main roads. The moment it slowed down, I opened the car door and tried to make a run for it. I failed. I kicked my legs out of the car, but the Indian man had managed to pull my body back in. From this moment on, everything is a blur. I remember the Malay driver temporarily stopping the car, leaning over from the driver’s seat and attempting to close the door and pull my legs in. At that point I remember thinking, “Even if I don’t get out now, I need to keep the door open and my legs out the door. At the very least, it should cause a scene, and someone would see me. Or, the door might hit another car and they’ll be forced to slow down.” So I continued kicking. My right foot pushed against the wide-open car door to keep it open. I recall elbowing, struggling, kicking, and even biting. I lost my glasses, and was struggling blindly for my life. At some point the Malay driver yelled, “BAGI DIA LEPAS! BAGI DIA LEPAS!” (Let her go! Let her go!) and the Indian man loosened his grip. I made a jump out of the still-moving car, and ran for my life.

5. I acted in spite of the fear.

My friends said I was brave. But I didn’t feel like it. I was quivering and shaking in fear. I was so afraid. I thought I was going to die.  I was weak with fear and deathly afraid. I truly thought “this was it”. But I knew I HAD to move. I had to run. Or there would be a worser fate in store for me. While I was quaking in fear, I forced myself to look around and see if there was any way I could escape, or even catch someone’s eye.

6. I remembered the people I love.

The only thing that matters when you’re faced with potentially horrendous fate, is the people in your life. When I felt the knife to my neck, the first thing I thought was , “This cannot be happening. I must be dreaming.” The second? The people that truly matter to me flashed across my mind. It sounds cliche, but it’s true. I thought of my parents. My brother. Khailee. Esther. More people. That’s all I could think of for a few moments, before I thought, “Shit. I need to get out of here.”"

Last-minute rush to settle summonses

Last-minute rush to settle summonses
SOURCE

PETALING JAYA: Frantic motorists thronged police stations and post offices nationwide to pay and avoid having their names blacklisted by the Road Transport Department.

Many more are expected to clear their summonses today as the deadline to settle traffic summonses at a discount ends today.

MyEG managing director Wong Thean Soon said www.myeg.com.my had processed around 150,000 to 200,000 payment transactions a day over the last few days.

“We also received around 500,000 summons checking requests a day for the past week.”

People waiting to pay traffic summonses at the general post office at Downing Street, George Town.

Bernama reported that post offices in the Klang Valley were well patronised yesterday.

A survey it conducted showed that the Taman Melawati post office was among the most packed. It was not so crowded at the Mindef post office, however.

However, it said that gaining access to the police, Myeg, and an interactive e-government website, Rilek eService was difficult due to heavy traffic.

The situation is expected to persist until 5pm today with traffic offenders expected to settle their summonses by credit cards or by debiting their accounts.

The police website posted a note, notifying motorists that the servers were running at maximum capacity and urged them to get back after 6pm if they have difficulties in checking their summons details.

Assistant administrative officer Indra Shafawan, 30, took the opportunity to pay RM50 - reduced from RM100 - for a parking offence committed at the KLIA in Sepang.

Security officer Azman Zainol, 26, said he only learned about the post offices being open through the newspapers yesterday morning.

He wasted no time going to the Taman Melawati post office to settle a traffic summons.

Clerk Anwar Lutin, 34, said that he decided to go to the Mindef post office when he learned that it was very crowded at Taman Melawati.

"I saw on the afternoon TV news that it was very crowded at Taman Melawati. So I came here (the Mindef post office)," he said.

Those who do not settle their summonses before today’s deadline will be blacklisted, barring them from renewing their driving licences and road tax.

From tomorrow, motorists will have to pay the full summons fine if they want their names removed from the blacklist.

In JOHOR BARU, the general post office saw more than 3,000 traffic offenders rushing to settle their summonses yesterday.

Supervisor Mohd Fauzan Ibrahim said four counters were opened to accommodate the crowd.

“There were a total of 2,100 people who turned up to settle their summonses on Saturday. On Friday there were 2,650,” he told The Star.

A check at the Johor Baru (South) traffic police depot also revealed a long queue of people.

In IPOH, however, the crowds were smaller.

A retired salesman, who wanted to be known as Ong, said there were fewer people at the police station compared to the past few days. However, Ong said, he had to wait for about two hours to settle his summonses.
At the post office, about 70 people waited their turn to pay.

In PENANG, some 300 people paid their traffic summonses at five counters at the general post office in Downing Street, George Town, from 8.30am to 5pm.

Many motorists also headed to the post offices in Tesco Penang, Queensbay Mall and Carrefour in Seberang Jaya.

Among those at the Downing Street post office was M. Lingeshwaren, 23.

He said he had waited six hours on Saturday at the Bayan Lepas police station, but still failed to settle his fines.

“I came at 10.30am. The queue here is much shorter,” he said.