NICB credits technology with reducing vehicle theft rate

A private passenger vehicle in the United States is ‘statistically’ less likely to be stolen today than in 1960, but thieves are using new methods to steal vehicles and resell them, the National Insurance Crime Bureau says.

Des Plaines, Ill.-based NICB released Monday theft statistics from the United States from 1960 to today.

In 1960, the theft rate per 100,000 population was 182, and this increased to 659 in 1991, dropping to 221 in 2013.

But registrations, as a percentage of population was 41% in 1960 and climbed to 80.8% in 2013, NICB said in a Dec. 8 release.

So the theft rate per 100,000 registrations dropped from 442.56 in 1960 to 284.84 in 2012, notes a chart provided by NICB. The number of registrations in 2013 was unavailable. The population statistics are from the Census Bureau, the registration numbers are from the Federal Highway Administration and the theft statistics are from both NICB and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

NICB noted it and its predecessor — the National Automobile Theft Bureau — has trained thousands of law enforcement officers.

“Technology has had an immeasurable positive effect on vehicle theft whether it’s deployed in the auto manufacturing process as new and more reliable anti-theft protection is engineered into design, or obtained as an after-market option by vehicle owners looking for an additional level of security,” NICB added.

But criminals has discovered new ways to steal vehicles, NICB warned.

For example, some pose as legitimate vehicle owners seeking replacement keys from dealerships or locksmiths.

“In a new twist, thieves use stolen identities or even create completely fraudulent new ones with phony credit histories, then walk into new car dealerships and secure loans for high-end vehicles,” NICB noted. “The vehicles are then shipped to a foreign seaport where they can be sold at a premium.”

NICB works with National Automotive Service Task Force, which “has created a data exchange system that allows locksmiths and dealerships to access key codes and immobilizer reset information provided by automobile manufacturers,” NICB noted. “NICB maintains a log of all NASTF transactions and NICB analysts examine the data looking for potential signs of fraud, as well as organized group activity resulting in numerous investigations.”

Thieves are also reselling stolen vehicles by cloning vehicle identification numbers (VINs) of other vehicles in order to disguise the true identity of a vehicle.

“Although not as technical as other schemes, NICB has investigated cases where a rental vehicle will be returned with a good key in the ignition and a blank key along with it,” NICB said in the release. “The thieves then return to the rental lot later with the other good key and simply drive off with the car. Or, they will place a GPS tracker in the car and when it is re-rented, follow it to a destination and then steal it once it is parked.”

NICB, whose members include property & casualty insurance firms and self-insured organizations, aims to prevent and detect insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness.