The Indiana State Police is warning off-road vehicle dealers about a fraud targeting ring.
The department says they are aware of eight confirmed cases that have occurred throughout the state. All of the cases have the following elements:
- Person wants to purchase an ATV, side by side, lawn mower, dirt bike, etc. over the phone.
- Provided driver’s licenses and credit cards are fraudulent.
- Credit card transactions might be declined, additional credit cards may be used for the entire purchase, or charges may be disputed later by actual credit card owner.
- Suspect’s story is often that they are buying the vehicle for someone else, who is not present.
- Suspect usually brings a moving van/rental truck to transport fraudulently purchased vehicle.
The Indiana State Police is providing some recommended preventative measures for businesses:
- Be suspicious of over the phone transactions, especially if caller wants to rush the purchase.
- Review purchase policies and consider mandating that the person who calls in the order must be the one who picks up the vehicle.
- Make sure the person picking up the vehicle brings the credit card(s) used to make the transaction as well as a DL or ID.
- Verify the identity of purchaser at the time of pickup and be aware of the use of fake ID’s.
- Make sure the credit card transactions will go through and not be disputed. Consider holding the purchase for three to four days until transaction is verified.
This information is only a recommendation to mitigate being victimized by this type of fraud/theft and should not be considered a complete list of steps to prevent a crime from occurring.
If you believe someone has attempted to fraudulently purchase a vehicle from your business, please contact your local law enforcement or Indiana State Police Post.
