A MESSAGE is doing the rounds on social media platform, WhatsApp. The message claims there is a new and simple way that criminals can steal your car.
It says that cars thieves need only look ‘through the windshield of your car or vehicle, write down the VIN number from the label on the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key based on the VIN number’.
The author of the message says they tested it out themselves after being a non-believer. The message said the person called several car dealerships pretending to have lost their key. Apparently they were told by the dealerships, all that was needed for a new set of car keys was the VIN number and ‘they would cut me one on the spot’.
What did the message suggest: that people cover their VIN number with tape because ‘[b]y law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you CAN cover it’ [sic].
We didn’t believe it either, so we asked our local Greenwood Park SAPS spokesperson, W/O Leon Audh, who busted this myth for us. “You cannot acquire a new key by just quoting a VIN number. There are additional requirements such as proof of ownership, an affidavit with the owners details, or a case number as well if necessary. So it’s not that easy to get a new key for new vehicles,” W/O Audh said.
