Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[REPORT: FBI busts up $25M car cloning ring]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/25/report-fbi-busts-up-25m-car-cloning-ring/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/25/report-fbi-busts-up-25m-car-cloning-ring/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/25/report-fbi-busts-up-25m-car-cloning-ring/#commentsFiled under: , ,



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 ring would clone cars, swiping the legal identity of one car - VIN numbers, tags, stickers -- and applying it to another, stolen car. The cloned car would then be sold to a dealer or consumer, and the countdown would begin: Eventually, most would be discovered as stolen property and confiscated, but the buyer would remain on the hook for the money owed.

For example, a man in Florida bought a Ford F-350 Super Duty for $27,000 last year from a used car dealer. Nine months later, it was tracked down and confiscated, but the bank has told the owner that he's still on the hook for the loan for a vehicle he no longer has.

Although the FBI admonishes, "Folks should be educated enough so that they don't buy a car from a stranger, on the street, or in a back alley somewhere," that might be a bit much, and the Super Duty owner bought the car at a used car lot. All kinds of private and public buyers have been taken, so do all of the research you can, and definitely don't buy your car in a back alley somewhere - the FBI got that much right! Hot tip, Jan.

Have you ever suffered an automobile-related theft? Take our poll after the jump!

[Source: CNN]

Continue reading REPORT: FBI busts up $25M car cloning ring

REPORT: FBI busts up $25M car cloning ring originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>auto theftAutoTheftcar buyingcar theftCarBuyingCarTheftFBIgovermentlegalscamstolenstolen carStolenCartheftWed, 25 Mar 2009 16:56:00 EST<![CDATA["Expired car warranty" calls have several states pissed, too]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/09/expired-car-warranty-calls-have-several-states-pissed-too/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/09/expired-car-warranty-calls-have-several-states-pissed-too/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/09/expired-car-warranty-calls-have-several-states-pissed-too/#commentsFiled under: ,

If you haven't gotten the automated phone call frantically saying that you desperately need to speak to someone about your car's warranty, consider yourself lucky. If you gave in and actually bought an expired warranty from these spineless telemarketers, good luck getting reimbursed for car repairs.

At least that's what several state attorneys general are saying. Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal says his office has received a "huge number" of complaints about the highly annoying and possibly illegal sales calls. Illegal because many of them blatantly violate the Federal Do Not Call Registry. Annoying because not only do they waste people's time, the extended warranties the companies are selling are almost always impossible to use, according to one attorney general. Connecticut, New Jersey and Iowa have teamed up to look into the sales pitches.

Unfortunately, the calls are almost impossible to trace since the numbers are spoofed. One number being used was traced to a disconnected phone in Nebraska that had belonged to an illegal immigrant who had been deported after a meat-packing plant raid.

If you've gotten calls from these people, you've probably already learned it's about impossible to get anything specific from them like a call back number, a manager's name or even the actual name of the business. We hope the investigation brings these alleged scam artists down. Hard.

[Source: The New York Times]

"Expired car warranty" calls have several states pissed, too originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>car warrantyCarWarrantyexpired warrantyExpiredWarrantyextended car warrantyextended warrantyExtendedCarWarrantyExtendedWarrantyscamspam phone callsSpamPhoneCallsSun, 09 Nov 2008 15:31:00 EST<![CDATA[VIDEO: Customer calls out Service Rep. on bogus $6,500 estimate]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/15/video-customer-calls-out-mercedes-service-rep-on-bogus-6-500/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/15/video-customer-calls-out-mercedes-service-rep-on-bogus-6-500/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/15/video-customer-calls-out-mercedes-service-rep-on-bogus-6-500/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The vast majority of service technicians are honorable, hard-working folks. It's the rotten few that will rake you over the coals when given the chance, giving the entire profession a bad name. Wise Bread, a personal finance website, tells of a Mercedes-Benz owner who seems to have encountered one of the latter. The gentleman in question had a moonroof that was on the fritz, so he took it in for service. The service writer and "certified" technician appear to have teamed up to deem the powered roof completely broken, and gave an estimate of $6,500 for repairs. Shocked by the guesstimate, the man went out for a second opinion. The second tech looked over the problem, found a pebble in the roof tracking, and removed it with a pair of tweezers. Total repair cost? $143 (most service departments charge you two hours labor just to walk through the door).

What happens next is both cool and funny. The disgruntled owner went back to the dealership with a hidden camera to show just how wrong this original diagnosis was. The resulting seven-minute video, while poor on audio, is quite amusing nonetheless. Check it out after the jump, and while you're over there, tell us in the comments about some of your most memorable trips to the service department.

Thanks for the tip, Wilson!

[Source: Wise Bread]

Continue reading VIDEO: Customer calls out Service Rep. on bogus $6,500 estimate

VIDEO: Customer calls out Service Rep. on bogus $6,500 estimate originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Jun 2007 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>benzmercedesscamservice departmentservice writerServiceDepartmentServiceWritertechnicianFri, 15 Jun 2007 10:03:00 EST<![CDATA[VW busted for scamming Google search, gets off easy]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/08/vw-busted-for-scamming-google-search-gets-off-easy/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/08/vw-busted-for-scamming-google-search-gets-off-easy/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/08/vw-busted-for-scamming-google-search-gets-off-easy/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Both Volkswagen and Google have responded to criticism that the automaker's web pages were in violation of Google's quality guidelines. The uproar centers around hidden keywords in flash-based pages.

Rather than include the keywords in the meta tag of the HTML page, which is where information about the document is typically placed, VW was hiding search keywords inside the page. Using a div layer, which is a technique of building pages with style sheets, Volkswagen had loads of search terms that would register with web spiders, but not show up to end users. The end result would be the Volkswagen pages would be called up for more searches on Google than they otherwise would be.

The name of this suspect layer, "invisibleContent," seems to clearly register its intent. Since being flagged, Google and Volkswagen's agency had a chat, and the search terms are now properly placed under the Meta description in the page. Oh yeah, the pages now block web crawlers from caching the pages - a total 180 degree turn from spamming search engines with hidden terms. Very weird.

Some webmasters are a little miffed that Google didn't throw the book at VW and kick it from the search engine's index, a particularly devastating reaction for websites that Google often has when a site is found to be violating its quality guidelines. Apparently it doesn't matter, however, since VW's blocked its site from being cached anyway.

[Source: cartoonbarry.com]

VW busted for scamming Google search, gets off easy originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 May 2007 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advertisingcodecssdivgooglehidden textHiddenTexthtmlinternetmarketingmetapagescamsearchspamvolkswagenvwwebweb pageWebPageTue, 08 May 2007 13:05:00 EST<![CDATA[CarFax begins offering airbag deployment info for free]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/07/carfax-begins-offering-airbag-deployment-info-for-free/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/07/carfax-begins-offering-airbag-deployment-info-for-free/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/07/carfax-begins-offering-airbag-deployment-info-for-free/#commentsFiled under: ,

Many used car buyers are completely unaware that their airbags might not deploy in the event of an accident. There are a few reasons for this, but the most prevalent is a scam in which a car that's experienced a previous collision has had its deployed airbag improperly replaced, sometimes with stolen airbag units from other cars and sometimes with nothing more than stuff like packing peanuts or whatever else was lying around the shop.

Being that Carfax offers a service attempting to expose every little detail about a car's history that's available, the company has decided to release information about a car's airbag deployment history for free. The new service doesn't appear to be available from the home page by entering a candidate car's VIN number, but rather from this separate page. We tested it out with a few VINs culled from Autotrader and have yet to find one with an active deployment history. On the other hand, Carfax admits it doesn't have complete records for every airbag deployment that's ever happened. Nevertheless, the database, while perhaps incomplete, contains useful info for those considering the purchase of a used car that's seen some crunch time.

[Source: Carfax]

Continue reading CarFax begins offering airbag deployment info for free

CarFax begins offering airbag deployment info for free originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 May 2007 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>airbagairbag deploymentAirbagDeploymentairbagscarfaxdeploymentscamused carUsedCarMon, 07 May 2007 19:32:00 EST<![CDATA[Seattle dealership rips off disabled man]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/23/seattle-dealership-rips-off-disabled-man/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/23/seattle-dealership-rips-off-disabled-man/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/23/seattle-dealership-rips-off-disabled-man/#commentsFiled under: ,

So you think that car salesman and dealerships have overcome their oft-deserved reputation for being sleazy? After reading this story, our semi-restored faith in the process of buying a car has been decimated.

Eleven dealership employees at the Huling Brothers dealership in West Seattle took part in an elaborate scam to take advantage of a 60-year old man with obvious mental deficiencies. When the man, soaked in his own urine, entered the dealership and told the car salesman that he had over $100K in cash in his home, the wheels of the scam machine went into full-gear and he left the dealership with an expensive truck . Needless to say, the man winds up with no money and no truck at the end of the story. Check out the details of this sad tale after the jump.

Thanks for the tip, Yvo.

[Source: KOMO TV]

Continue reading Seattle dealership rips off disabled man

Seattle dealership rips off disabled man originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dealershipHuling BrothersHulingBrothersscamSeattle, WASeattle,WaTue, 23 Jan 2007 14:27:00 EST<![CDATA[Classic prank: Preying on the naive auto owner]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/19/classic-prank-preying-on-the-naive-auto-owner/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/19/classic-prank-preying-on-the-naive-auto-owner/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/19/classic-prank-preying-on-the-naive-auto-owner/#commentsFiled under: ,

In high school my best friend and I convinced his sister that the sphincter valve on her car was broken and leaking blinker fluid all over the driveway. She freaked and offered us money to drive it up to their family mechanic and have it fixed. We took the money and blew it on Golden Tee.

We know, we know, it's a horrible prank, but it's such a classic. One of the blokes on our development team responsible for our new galleries and improved search functionality (zup, Celly!) tipped us off to this year-old recording of a radio show prank in which a poor, naive young lady gets it good from some morning show hosts. She believed and agreed to pay $2,400 for the pleasure of fixing her leaky headlights, switching her tires that were accidentally installed on the wrong sides, installing two transmissions that were missing from the vehicle and ruining her gas mileage, among a few other fictitious, high-priced repairs.

We're sure you all have some great stories to tell in which you duped some unsuspecting friend or family member into believing something hilariously false about his or her car. Feel free to share in the comments.

[Source: Scogginsnoggin]

Classic prank: Preying on the naive auto owner originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>mechanicnaiverepairscamFri, 19 Jan 2007 18:58:00 EST