... and the other scams
A thief steals a vehicle and needs to re-register it. He pays a visit to a salvage yard and buys a wreck, sometimes for as little as £50. Details of the wreck are then sent to the DVLA, saying that it has been salvaged and rebuilt. The thief is sent a logbook and the identity of the wreck legitimises the stolen car, which can now be sold on. The new owner will probably have no idea he or she is driving a stolen car. There has been a decrease in the number of cars involved in this kind of crime because the salvage industry is more closely regulated.
INTERNET
The thief uses the internet to look up cars advertised for sale by a German showroom. He telephones the company, expressing his interest in a car and requesting the Vehicle Identification Number to make a perfunctory credit check. Armed with the VIN, he acquires a "certificate of conformity" from the manufacturer, a formality to say the vehicle does not need altering to be driven on British roads. With these documents he has all the details he needs to register a car in the UK. He then goes out to steal a car that fits the details.
CARJACKING
This is the simplest and most brutal form of car theft. A driver stops for petrol, at traffic lights or is bumped from behind. He is then manhandled out of the car, often with extreme violence, and the thief speeds off in the vehicle.
