As of this week, the Canada Border Services Agency is taking measures that could help close what some experts call an escape that has facilitated thieves disguise stolen vehicles.
CBC Toronto has learned that until Tuesday, CBSA has begun to share some vehicle export data with Carfax and Équité Association, and is also exploring the possibility of sharing it with other interested parties.
It is not clear exactly how Carfax, a company that provides vehicle history reports, and Équité Association, a non -profit insurance fraud body, will use CBSA data, but could indicate improvements in the capture of stolen vehicles.
Experts say that vehicle identification numbers (Vens) in legally exported vehicles are very sought after by criminals, which clone the unique serial number, usually found in several places, including the board, and place it in a stolen vehicle in Canada, also known as re -entering. Without any way for provincial concessionaires, buyers or ministries to verify if a vehicle has been exported, some well -dressed stolen vehicles have passed through cracks without being detected.
The Ontario Used Automobile Distributors Association has been asking the CBSA for more than a year for the exported vin information to be available. The organization’s executive director says that sharing the data with Carfax is a good start, although it says that it can be done more so that the information is available to others.
The ‘mass’ problem to return
Police and governments throughout the country have been working to take energetic measures against car theft, which has shot in recent years. Between 2021 and 2023, it increased about a third, reaching a maximum of 70,475 incidents, according to statistics from the Équité association. Surveillance and policy efforts seem to be making a difference, with car thefts 18.6 percent between 2023 and 2024.
Experts say there are three main uses for stolen vehicles. Some are exported illegally; Others are disassembled and used for parts. The rest vote again.
“The numbers are massive. And we are not seeing it only limited to passenger vehicles,” Det said. Greg O’Connor with Peel Regional Police in Ontario.
O’Connor says that in last year, its police force has investigated about 300 returned vehicles, which also includes transport trucks.
Vins cloning legally exported vehicles is the preference for criminals, says Bryan Gast, vice president of research services of the Équité Association.
“They know that was a legitimate vin when he left, and the probability of returning to Ontario is extremely remote,” said Gast, who previously worked on the application of the law for three decades.
Dan Kraehling detection, with the Toronto Police, says that criminals generally obtain Vin exported to Vins by finding open -source import data online from other countries.
“[It’s] By ease, more than anything, “Kraehling said.” They can remove them directly from the websites and use them for review purposes. ”
Some stolen criminals are used by criminals to commit other crimes, while others are sold, sometimes they end up in the hands of unsuspecting customers.
Fraud ‘can even fool experts’
While there are often signs that a vehicle could be stolen, Sam Cosentino says that “absolutely” happens that distributors can be deceived by stolen cars, even with due diligence.
“[These] They are very elaborate fraud and can even fool market experts and market professionals, “said Cosentino, execution director of the Motorized Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC) of Ontario, which regulates sales of vehicles in Ontario.
Garry Lotichever, owner of Toronto used the Quest Auto Group car dealership, says he meets fraudulent vins almost weekly. While he has caught more, he says that some have slipped.
“Every time that happens, Sangro. We take it very, very personally,” said Letichever.
The lack of information about exported vehicles has provided thieves to clone their vehicle identification numbers and disguise stolen vehicles in Canada. Sarah Macmillan of CBC reports.
The client could eventually end the car seized by the police, and his insurance is considered invalid, once the police discover that, in fact, it is a stolen vehicle.
There is a compensation fund administered by OMVIC, which provides protection to customers who buy through a licensed distributor. But if you buy in private, you might have no luck.
CBSA cites privacy concerns
James Hamilton, executive director of the Ontario Used Auto Distributors Association, which represents almost 5,000 members, contacted CBSA for the first time in April 2024, asking the Federal Agency to share VIN export information with its association.
Hamilton says that his association does not want all exported vin to be publicly available, but as a tool that distributors could use to find a specific vin, to see if it is a coincidence for an exported vehicle.
In the responses to Hamilton last summer, as well as earlier this month, the CBSA cited privacy concerns and said that he considers Vins personal information. In the context of exports, the agency said that the exported vin are considered customs information by virtue of the Customs Law, and cannot be shared.
Hamilton has problems with the concern of privacy, an opinion shared by Cosentino, who said he has “absolutely any sense” for him.
“They are a public exhibition and, in fact, their vin is on their board. That is available for anyone who walks with their car,” Cosentino said.
In a statement to CBC, Luke Reimer, a CBSA spokesman, said the “risk of fraud exceeds the potential benefits” of creating a search database that could be used to verify if a vin had been exported.
However, Reimer said the CBSA has begun to share “Vin Information” with Carfax and Équité Association, after working together to “allow a safe way to transmit this confidential information.”
Carfax offers searches in vehicle history, starting at $ 54.95 for a single search. In an email to CBC, the company said its data sources are confidential and would not confirm how CBSA data will use. The Director of Media Relationships of the Association Équité also said that I could not comment on the use of specific data.
Reimer said the first transmission of that data occurred on Tuesday of this week.
Hamilton said he is happy to hear that information is being shared, but argues that his association should also have access, particularly so that he can offer searches at low cost or no cost for his members.
“The data is our friend if we use it for good purposes,” Hamilton said.
Reimer said CBSA is “exploring ways to share more information with other interested parties.”
