Official News page 5

REAL LIFE NEWS: HOW TO STEAL AN OLD CAR

by Hazed

To steal a newish car you need to find a way to break the security, or hack the electronic locks, or maybe to pinch the keys out of somebody's pocket - or even their house.

But if you want to steal an old car, it turns out you don't need anything elaborate. Thieves in Nashville, Tennessee have discovered a really easy to do it. They simply call a tow truck and get the car towed away as a wreck.

If a car is at least ten years old, the wrecker service will just hitch up the car and tow it away to be junked, without asking for any proof that the person making the call is the vehicle's owner. They'll even take cars out of the owner's yard, without needing to see any registration documents, or anything that shows ownership of the property.

Police report 11 cases where this happened in the space of three weeks. It's quick money for the thief because the wreckers will pay anything up to $600 for the scrap metal value.

The problem is that the law only requires a bill of sale and an ID if the cars are over ten years old. Both those things are easily forged which makes the vehicles easy pickings for thieves.

Police are asking tow and salvage companies to be more diligent, and are also working with lawmakers to get the law changed.

Source: http://www.wsmv.com/news/26878155/detail.html

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