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HOUSTON — Houston police said they are seeing a rise in the number of guns stolen from cars. Sergeant Tracy Hicks from the HPD Auto Theft Crimes Task Force said more than 2,000 guns have been stolen from cars in the city in the last 10 months. He said that is an increase of 21 percent since last year. "It's not a good guy stealing your gun. It's a bad guy using it for who knows what," said Sgt. Hicks. "What is my gun being used…
SAN FERNANDO — A Tarzana man involved in a scheme centered in the San Fernando Valley that targeted buyers of luxury cars including Bentleys and Maseratis was sentenced Friday to nine years in state prison. Arman Mave Hazarian, also known as Dean Hazarian, pleaded no contest in October to three felony counts of grand theft auto and one felony count of grand theft. The 48-year-old man also admitted he had taken property valued at more…
Keyless technology has led to a sharp rise in thefts of luxury cars, figures show. More than 14,000 premium models were stolen between January and October this year, according to an analysis of insurance claims by Direct Line. That is more than double the amount over the same period in 2015 and means a luxury vehicle is stolen once every 38 minutes on Britain's roads. Police and insurance firms believe the rise is partly because modern…
Experts have claimed that organised car thieves are using WhatsApp groups to plan and steal vehicles to order as motor thefts remain at epidemic levels. Criminal gangs are using coded messaging on apps and even mobile games to draw up and share shopping lists of models identified as being ideal targets, relay information about how to steal specific cars and put plans in place to hide their identity. These tactics have helped to…
DES PLAINES, Ill., Nov. 19, 2019 — The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today released its annual Hot Wheels report, which identifies the 10 most stolen vehicles in the United States. The report examines vehicle theft data submitted by law enforcement to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and determines the vehicle make, model, and model year most reported stolen in 2018. According to the FBI, in 2018, a total of…
Car makers have finally begun to fight back against the epidemic of keyless car crime, new tests have revealed. Six of the latest models from major manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Ford and VW received the highest security rating available in a new round of assessments that scrutinises how well vehicles stand-up against 'relay' thefts. It found that many of the latest cars with keyless entry and keyless start systems now have motion…
On August 12, 1908, the first Model T rolled off the assembly line at Henry Ford’s plant on Piquette Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The arrival of the Model T, a mechanical marvel of its time, ushered in a new era of reliable, affordable transportation and travel for the American people. It also launched a new wave of crime. In these early days, cars were easy to steal. Few had built-in locks. Ignitions were primitive and easy to hotwire.…
In the past year, Auto Finance News has tracked 20 cases of auto loan fraud in the United States alone. The schemes racked up more than $173 million in fake loans and stolen cars. But these data points only tell part of the story. Auto fraud is notoriously hard to catch, said Detective Alex Arenas, head of economic crimes at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. In fact, less than 2% of fraud schemes are typically uncovered by law…
Almost 10,000 vans and commercial vehicles were stolen in the UK last year – a 4% rise year-on-year and a 45% increase over the last four years. The figures show that vans in London and West Yorkshire are most at risk. Of the 9,371 van thefts reported in the past 12 months, 4,777 were stolen in Great London area – a rise of 15%. The biggest yearly increase in thefts was reported in Leicestershire with 10 times more vans stolen in…
When Masamba Sinclair rented a Ford Expedition from Enterprise Rent-a-Car last May, he was excited to connect it to FordPass. The app allows drivers to use their phones to remotely start and stop the engine, lock and unlock the doors, and track the vehicle's precise location. "I enjoyed it and logged into FordPass to be able to access vehicle features from my phone such as locking, unlocking, and starting the engine," Sinclair, who is 34,…