As long as there have been cars there have been crimes related to cars. If there’s one thing you can say for criminals, it’s that they always seem to find a way to surprise you. I’m not suggesting that every criminal is a mastermind, but only that they do tend to think outside the box from time to time.
The list of crimes related to cars is a long one and too large to be discussed in an article such as this one so we’ll limit our discussion to five examples that stand out from the crowd. Here are five crimes related to cars that will surprise you.
Car Cloning
No matter what we do thieves will always find a way to circumvent our best efforts. Cars have become increasingly high-tech and high-security in the last few years, but that hasn’t stopped them from finding a way around all that technology. One way thieves are getting around the high-tech tracking that’s in place for finding out if a car is stolen or not is to actually clone cars.
It’s probably not what you think, what they actually do is copy VIN numbers from new cars in car lots, clone them, and then use those cloned VIN’s to replace the VIN’s in stolen cars. When you run the Vin number it comes back as clean and an unsuspecting purchaser is none the wiser. The bottom line is to make sure you know and trust the seller if it looks too good to be true it probably is!
Self-Driving Cars As Deadly Weapons
Normally, we don’t think of cars as weapons, but as self-driving cars become a reality we may need to rethink that. In the future as self-driving cars start to hit the streets, it won’t be long before remotely driven cars are a possibility as well – much like aerial drones today.
If a remotely controlled self-driving car got into the wrong hands, it could be used as a deadly weapon for assassination attempts. It’s a sobering reality and it points to the need for our governments and legislatures to develop strong laws to try and prevent such possibilities.
Hacking and Stealing a Car
Another potential hiccup with the increased use of technology in our cars is the possibility that our cars might be hacked. In fact, it’s already happened on a few occasions and it’s likely to become more common in the future as our cars become increasingly integrated with computers and mobile technology.
We all love the fact that our cars are becoming tapped into the World Wide Web, but at the same time, we’re trying to access the wider world, the wider world can use that access against us. There probably isn’t a simple solution to this, but automobile manufacturers will have to remain vigilant to stay one step ahead of the thieves.
The Accidental Thief
Now it’s time to take a lighter look at crimes related to cars. Recently, in Portland Oregon, a woman had her Subaru stolen right out of her driveway. She attempted to use social media to find the culprit but was surprised to find that the car was actually returned to her driveway with a note of apology and gas money.
It turns out another woman had mistakenly stolen the car thinking it was her friend’s car. Apparently, in older model Subaru’s the keys may be interchangeable, so that one key may work in multiple vehicles. Thankfully, Subaru has fixed this problem in recent years!
Who Stole My Kit Kat?
Why not save the best for last? Well, that’s what we’ve done. I don’t know about you, but I love a good Kit Kat, and apparently they’re quite popular with thieves as well. A student at the University of Kansas recently had a Kit Kat stolen out of their car. It turns out the thief didn’t take anything else as they simply had a bit of a hunger on.
They even left an apologetic note explaining that they simply couldn’t resist the temptation.
The victim, in this case, decided to turn to Twitter to share his bizarre story with the world and that’s when the story took an even stranger twist. Hershey, the parent company that makes Kit Kat, decided to replace the missing chocolate bar. In fact, they filled the student’s entire car with thousands of chocolate bars! It just goes to show, it’s always a good idea to share your strange stories on social media.
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