What Can a Criminal Do With My Car Registration Card?

You may be wondering why your vehicle registration card was stolen. What might someone do with your car registration details? As it turns out, a smart thief can steal your identity using information received from your registration and insurance card. It can open the door to plenty of illegal activities.

You may not even be aware that this has happened unless you get invoices for items you did not purchase or loan statements for funds you did not seek. Keep your registration and insurance cards out of the glove box. Police agencies report that the vast majority of car break-ins occur in unlocked cars. Locking a car’s doors is a simple and efficient approach to prevent theft, according to police.

To find out What Can a Criminal Do With a Car Registration Card, check out the information given below.

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What Can A Thief Do With Your Car Registration?

A thief can’t do much with your vehicle registration except get your address and name, which might be beneficial if he wants to reach your home late at night and wants to steal your vehicle.

Car registrations are public information. Whether they have the VIN, which is printed on your dashboard and visible from the vehicle’s exterior or the license plate, they may acquire that input from a range of resources. They can probably do much more with original registration than they can with a copy. 

Therefore, it is always advisable not to keep the original registration card in the unlocked glove box. A copy is sufficient for authorities who may stop you, as the original registration card is only required to transfer ownership of the car. Carry a duplicate with you or keep it in your car, but just never leave the original at home.

The following is a list of things a thief can do with your car registration:

 They Can Use Your Vehicle Identification Number

Vehicle Identification Number, together with some other details of your car registration card, can be used to determine the ownership of your vehicle.

The thief can simply sell your car with the vehicle title since they can pass themselves off as the owner. When the time arrives, they might attempt to take it and lawfully sell it without leaving any indications of crime. 

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They Can Get A Loan Against Your Car

That’s correct. There are financial firms that will lend you money based on the title of the car.

This essentially means money for free again for thieves and plenty of other legal troubles for you as you attempt to justify that someone else stole the car registration card.

They Can Sell A Stolen Car With Your VIN

If a burglar gets your car registration information, they may even be able to steal a model of car from the same year and claim it as their own.

They might then change the VIN of the stolen car with yours to sell or rent the vehicle. Again, the trial will go back to you since they used your information rather than theirs.

It’s a lot of uncertainty that helps them hide the traces just so that you wind up being the bad guy if anything goes wrong.

They Can Find Out More About You and Plan A Break-in

Regrettably, the registration certificate reveals your address. Furthermore, based on the type of car you’ve registered, they can determine if you have any extra cash or items worth taking.

They may check out your property, watch until you’ve gone, and break in since they know the car you drive and your address.

This requires a few more procedures, making it less probable than the previously described cases. Nonetheless, it’s a good idea to be careful and, if necessary, increase your home security.

What to do if Your Car Registration Gets Stolen

If your car registration card is stolen, file a police complaint right away. Try to provide all details such as the date, time, and location of the theft.

In some countries, car owners can request the police department for a new car registration card. In others, you can request a replacement with the DMV.

In others, you can request a replacement with the DMV. Here is the list of things to do if your car registration gets stolen:

File a theft report

When victims report car burglaries, they often overlook to note that the vehicle registration was also taken. Generally, because they assume, there will be no additional consequences. However, as seen by the past cases, it can lead to several other critical problems.

Contact your DMV/BMV

Contact your DMV/BMV to check whether someone has recently attempted to acquire a transfer of your ownership. If someone has tried, mainly if they have succeeded, immediately call the police as quickly as possible.

Check Your Credit Reports

If someone else has taken a loan in your name, it will appear on your credit reports.

Keep a close watch on your credit reports if your car registration was stolen to discover any misconduct in time.

Upgrade the Car’s Security

 The car registration information is often found in the glove box of the car in the issue. This signifies that someone was able to enter your car, either by breaking the glass or by opening the front door like a professional.

What does it indicate? Your car is just not as secure as you believed. They most likely intended to take the car immediately then and there, but a problem arose, and they were forced to flee. However, they took the car registration with them to hunt it down and return it later.

If you want to avoid this, consider several proactive measures to guarantee it doesn’t happen.

Purchase a few security gadgets, such as a steering wheel lock, a wheel lock, a vehicle alarm, a camera, and a GPS tracker.

Conclusion

Thieves are becoming more innovative day by day, searching for new methods to fool owners and police. If they obtain your car registration, they will get enough details to assume your identities in various illegal transactions.

Even if you aren’t a direct victim of any illegal acts, there’s a possibility they’ll attempt to accuse you of further crimes using this information.

However, you should consider calling the cops and explaining your scenario. So that at least, you’ll be there on record as having reported the theft, so if anything unusual occurs, you’ll have documentation to back up your claim.