Cases of thugs hiring cars and selling them to unsuspecting buyers on the rise: DCI

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has issued a warning about a new crime trend in Murang’a and Kiambu, in which victims have been misled into buying stolen cars.

According to a police report released on Thursday, thieves who act as legitimate customers hire cars solely to falsify the documentation and sell them.

“Forging details in the vehicles’ original documents (which detectives suspect are shared by rogue car hire agents) the cons go ahead to fake the identity of genuine car owners, making it difficult for their to-be customers to detect any discrepancies, ” A police report seen by Citizen Digital explains.

When customers demand that the car logbook be transferred to their name, the crime is revealed. Albeit a moment too late.

“…they realize they were duped into illegal deals. By the time, they will have parted with a huge percentage of the cost of the vehicle, with none of the sellers picking up calls. ,” the police report explains.

According to the cops, care hire agents who realize their vehicles have passed their return date notify the police, only for the cars to be recovered from the hands of innocent victims.

Several such incidents, according to the DCI, have been reported to their customer service desk and on social media in the last few days.

“This caution adds to the warnings issued previously by the DCI on existing fraudulent online vendors who trade without any physical addresses or locations, some of whom transact in stolen and/or counterfeit products that often get victims in trouble with the law,” the DCI said.