Stolen


REPORT: Tough times yield more insurance fraud cases

They're called owner "give-ups," and their rise is a sign of the tough economic times. Despondent over being financially strapped and unable to cover car payments, vehicle owners are ditching, sinking, or torching their vehicles and reporting the loss to collect insurance payoffs. According to authorities, most of the titleholders aren't seasoned criminals. In fact, many of the false claims are filed by first-time offenders -- people who normally wouldn't steal a piece of candy from a store. However, the desperate owners see insurance ... Read more →

REPORT: FBI busts up $25M car cloning ring Jonathon Ramsey

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has shut down a car theft ring operating in the U.S. for more than 20 years, causing in excess of $25 million in losses to owners and banks. According to CNN, the ...

Three Nebraska auto execs disappear... along with 81 cars Jonathon Ramsey

Perhaps it began as an innocent experiment among dealer personnel: what would happen if three dealership executives all disappeared on the same day and 81 of the dealership's cars showed up at auto ...

Innovative UK car theft kingpin jailed Jonathon Ramsey

Recently, a Cadillac once owned by Steve McQueen was caught up in a theft ring in Colorado that stole the car from a rental company, "sold" it to a new owner - one of the theft ring members - and then ...

Steve McQueen's stolen Cadillac recovered Jonathon Ramsey

A busted car theft ring has turned up a vintage Cadillac once owned by one of the Magnificent Seven. The five-finger-discount drivers out of Colorado, headed by Jeffrey Earle Piper, would steal ...

People turn to torching cars in bad economy 1 year ago on Autoblog

Vehicle owners behind in their payments and faced with mounting debts have begun taking matches to their cars and trucks in an effort to stop their payments and collect the insurance settlements. Unfortunately, in most cases the attempts backfire (pun intended). According to police, when ...

Police find "stolen car graveyard" in Washington lake 1 year ago on Autoblog

Finding a stash of vehicles left to rot can be exciting, like if they're in a barn and they're vintage and would have some high collectible value once fixed up. Finding a stash of cars left to rot at the bottom of a lake, well, that's a downer for everyone. Authorities in Camas, Washington (the ...

Stolen car vandalized, thief complains to cops 1 year ago on Autoblog

In yet another indication that thieves may boast more skill and luck than overall intelligence, a 22-year-old Somers, Connecticut, resident in possession of a stolen Cadillac STS complained to authorities that someone had broken the window on "his" car. Of course, it took the police just a few ...

Lesson of the day: Don't hide your spare keys in your car 1 year ago on Autoblog

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but it's probably not a good idea to hide the spare keys for your first and second car inside your... uh, car. Perhaps you can already tell where we're going with this... for the sake of the story, though, we'll continue. What might happen if your car were ...

Catalytic Converters: Thieves target the pod of precious metal 1 year ago on Autoblog

Bulging in the exhaust system like a rabbit deep in the belly of a boa, the catalytic converter cleans engine fumes before they are released into the air. To the inexperienced, the oversized metal cylinder looks rather uninteresting. To a thief, it is a pod of precious metal worth nearly $200 on the ...

Whoops, eh? - Canadian Ford ad spurs backlash 1 year ago on Autoblog

The Catch-22 with advertising these days is that someone will undoubtedly be offended if your campaign is clever enough to be memorable. Ford of Canada came up with such an effort for the Escape, showing the CUV wearing a bumper sticker with the phrase "drive it like you stole it," and the tagline ...

eBay Find of the Day: Jeep Grand Cherokee Commando Edition 2 years ago on Autoblog

Here's a familiar morning routine now that the weather's turning colder: start car, set heat on high, retreat inside to finish coffee. There's plenty of debate for and against the practice of warming up by idling, but the unfortunate story of this ZJ could bolster the argument for just getting in ...

LoJack Europe foils Lamborghini Gallardo thieves 2 years ago on Autoblog

LoJack's international recovery network makes it increasingly difficult to escape its satellite eyes. Here's the best example yet. Two Albanian thieves broke into the Italian vacation of home of a Frenchman and knocked him out with sleeping gas. They then stole his French-registered Gallardo. When ...

Third-row seats new target for thieves 2 years ago on Autoblog

SUV owners love the flexibility that their removable or stowable third-row seats afford them, and thieves have taken note. A growing number of third-row seats are being stolen and sold at swap meets, and the removable seats on the Chevy Tahoe are one of the main targets. Chevy designers made the ...

Bristol break-in stops the presses 2 years ago on Autoblog

Bristol, a little known British builder of expensive luxury and sports cars, opened up its shop this past Monday in Patchway, England to find a rude surprise. Thieves had broken into the factory over the weekend and, instead of stealing cars, ripped off the company's presses that stamp out body ...

Stolen T-Bird recovered after three decades 2 years ago on Autoblog

In 1976, the Palo Alto, California owner of a 1956 Ford Thunderbird had his car stolen from him. In an unwitting stroke of fortune, he still lives not far from where his baby was taken. This week, he got a call -- thirty-one years later -- that his 51-year-old car has been found in Southern ...

Out of sorts: Race team's transporter stolen, 2 cars missing 2 years ago on Autoblog

Sorted Performance had its Speed World Challenge racing season come to an abrupt halt earlier this week when its transporter consisting of a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 dually and 48-foot Gooseneck Haulmark Edge triple axle trailer were stolen from a Hampton Inn parking lot in Livonia, MI. Team manager ...

Love Hertz: Shelby GT-H rental stolen, man arrested 2 years ago on Autoblog

As devout members of Our Lady of Blowers and Burnouts, most of us can sympathize with someone that rents the Shelby GT-H and then has to return the 'Stang to their local Hertz office. It must be a tough pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, what's the alternative? For one weary soul in ...

Beckham's stolen Bimmer turns up as personal ride of Macedonian official 2 years ago on Autoblog

You may recall last year we posted on David Beckham's intimate experiences with grand theft auto. His armour-plated BMW X5 was boosted from a shopping mall parking garage in Madrid, Spain despite the high-tech anti-theft security system onboard that the criminals may have used a laptop PC to ...

All your license plates are belong to us: System developed that scans plates on the fly 2 years ago on Autoblog

Bad guys beware, there is new technology that will hunt you down and have you singing the jailhouse blues faster than ever before. Harnessing the power of computers, the ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition System) allows police to be far more efficient, by no longer relying on just their sharp ...

Mazda3 may be vulnerable to break-ins 2 years ago on Autoblog

var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/security/Got_a_Mazda_3_It_can_be_broken_into_by_just_punching_the_passenger_door'; We debated on posting this because we always seem to get nailed in the comments for advertising a new way to break the law, but we feel it's important information for Mazda3 ...

Beach beauties in Moscow lead to boosted cars 3 years ago on Autoblog

The last thing you expect when exiting your vehicle to witness a group of women stripping down and washing each other on the beach is for someone to jack your car, but that's exactly what dozens of Russian motorists encountered recently in Moscow thanks to a creative group of car thieves. The heist ...

Top ten most stolen vehicles show that small isn't safe 3 years ago on Autoblog

According to CCC Information Services Inc., an organization that monitors stolen and damaged vehicles, small cars are among the most targeted vehicles for theft. Apparently compacts are easy to steal, dismantle and then sell, mainly due to their popularity among import enthusiasts. The 1995-2001 ...






Autoblog Podcast #154: Gobbling up the News

Chris, Sam, and Dan kick out a podcast just in time for the long holiday drive.

 
 

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