Selling a fake title to someone who works at a title company might be the worst luck ever, but that’s exactly what someone did in this edition of Dirt Legal Stories. Our hope is that by baring our unfortunate truths for the world to see, we might save you the trouble of going through this trouble yourself. Today we’re talking about the unluckiest jabroni who tried to pass off a forged car title to one our employees, who we’ll refer to as Zac Efron because why not.
The names and identifying details have been changed, but the message is the same.
The Fake Title Debacle: A Scammer in the Wrong Place
One sunny day, one of our employees known as Zac Efron went to buy himself a lightly used motorcycle off Craigslist. The bike in question was a 2015 Husqvarna dirt bike, a sought-after model that’s perfect for a street legal dirt bike conversion. This one had low miles and all the right parts already installed, so early the next morning he set out to buy it.
A Great Bike and a Fake Title
Upon arriving at the seller’s place, Zac Efron found the Husqvarna to be in fantastic condition. It had “the look”: the right colors, the right exhaust, the right wheels. The seller explained that both he and the previous owner had taken exemplary care of the bike.
The seller was modest, friendly, jovial, and well-spoken, the kind of person you would love to have a beer with while discussing cars, basketball, or how the real Zac Efron’s hair looks so damn good all the time.
The seller’s approachable demeanor meant our Zac Efron was totally unprepared for what happened next.
A Forged Title Enters the Mix
The seller handed over the title to his motorcycle, but being a professional title expert, Zac immediately noticed something odd. In every spot where the motorcycle’s model year of 2015 was printed, the “20” was a little bit smaller than the “15”. Kind of like those old-timey calendars your grandparents had from 1960-something so all the dates said “19__” instead of just one big blank. Not only that, but the font used on those numbers was completely different than what was used on the rest of the title.
Then Zac Efron noticed that the VIN number was crammed into its space more awkwardly than a last-second compliment on a failing Tinder match. It also ended with an X, something Husqvarna has never done with any of their VIN numbers. Zac compared it to the VIN stamped on the frame of the motorcycle and lo and behold, the real VIN was a few digits longer. Zac then noticed that the Vehicle Type section on the title said “PK” – that stands for Pickup Truck.
In short, there were three indicators that this was a forged car title:
The VIN on the title did not match the motorcycle
The Vehicle Type on the title was a truck
The title appeared to have been altered using a household printer
There was no point looking for more evidence. Zac Efron had encountered a forged car title.
The Seller Made Plenty of Excuses
When Zac called the seller out, he insisted that he bought the bike that way and the fake title was already like that when he first saw it. Of course, it was already in his name so that couldn’t have been true. And let’s not forget this is a pickup truck title, yet oddly enough there was no pickup truck in the driveway.
The second Zac Efron told this jabroni he was employed by a title company, the seller’s tone changed faster than an opera singer taking a boot to the groin. He still maintained his innocence about the fake title, but the price of the motorcycle suddenly dropped dramatically. He practically begged Zac to buy the motorcycle for pennies on the dollar. Funny how that works, huh?
Zac did run the motorcycle’s VIN number to ensure it wasn’t stolen. We later ran the title number past the DMV, and like a real-life Maury Lie Detector we learned the title belonged to a truck registered to none other than the biggest jabroni of all, the seller. How was he planning to get another title for his truck, you might ask?
Why Would Someone Forge a Car Title? How Would They Succeed?
In this case, a dirt bike’s value goes up tremendously when it has a street legal title because they usually don’t. The seller most likely told them DMV he lost his truck title and ordered a replacement title. He then planned to alter the “lost” title, which having been replaced by the new one is no longer a valid title, and used that old, outdated, invalid, forged title to sell his motorcycle at a higher price.
In other situations, the scammer might be trying to cover up a theft: either a stolen car or a stolen title.
Legally speaking, I’m not saying the seller accidentally tried to pass off a forged car title to someone who worked at a title company or that he fully intended to scam whoever walked through the door that day. What I’m saying is:
Zac Efron telling the seller what’s what
How Do You Avoid Fake Car Title Scams?
You might be saying, “Sure, it was easy for him to spot that forged title because he’s a title expert!” True, but there are many things the average person can do to avoid title fraud.
If you think you have encountered a forged car title, look for signs of altered numbers or reprinted text. Run a VIN check for the number printed on the title. Finally, compare the title details to the vehicle in question and make sure everything matches.
Catch it beforehand. The dirt bike in our story was never street legal to begin with. That means there was no title in the DMV system. But that’s the beauty of it: if a vehicle has a title, there must be some record of it. Zac could have avoided this forged title situation by asking the seller for the bike’s VIN number upfront, running it through a VIN Check, and discovering that no records existed.
It’s never too late. Zac could have run the VIN number displayed on the title itself and realized it didn’t match the vehicle in question. If any of the details on the title don’t line up with the vehicle you’re looking at, that almost always means something is amiss. And if Zac happened to get fooled and bought the vehicle, a good Bill of Sale would give him plenty of recourse against the seller. He could then use a service like Dirt Legal to get a new title and license plates in his name.
It All Worked Out in the End
The villain in this story chose the wrong person to mess with, but anyone can defend themselves against title scams! If you ever end up in a situation where you suspect a fake car title is involved, please don’t hesitate to contact Dirt Legal and we will be happy to help however we can.
All’s well that ends well!
Cover image source. We are not attorneys. This article is not legal advice. This article is not actually about Zac Efron.
If the seller wasn’t the nicest guy on Earth, I’d be out a lot of money right now.