According to the e-mail, criminals copy the VIN number of the vehicle from the licence disc, then go to the vehicle dealer and have a duplicate key cut.
The e-mail states that criminals then inform the dealer that they lost their key and they are issued with a new one which they use to steal the vehicle.
Supt Wilfred Kgasago, spokesperson for the EMPD, says that motorists should remember that no right-thinking vehicle dealer will just process such a request before establishing and verifying that the applicant is on record having bought that particular vehicle.
“The bottom line unless it is an inside job, this will not happen in such a simple fashion,” says Kgasago.