Casual car theft, such as those committed by joyriding juveniles, still exists but has become a lesser part of the auto theft problem. Increasingly, car theft is a sophisticated criminal enterprise that involves title fraud, vehicle identification cloning, and stripping cars for parts in “chop shops.” The domestic and international black market for stolen vehicles and their parts is a profitable business. Vehicle identification cloning helps facilitate the crime of dealing in stolen vehicles. A thief copies a Vehicle Identification Number from a legally owned and documented vehicle and uses it to create counterfeit VIN tags.
