Produced by the San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Task ForceProduced by the San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Task Force——www.sdratt.comwww.sdratt.com

RATT~Tales Fifth Edition. Southern California, September / October 2011RATT~Tales Fifth Edition. Southern California, September / October 2011

RATT-Tales Fifth Edition-PAGE 1

Hollywood’s Latest

Discovery?

Story on page #2

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/article_49f3ba49-90d8-5140-a656-b8f4b1294afd.html

The editors of the RATT-Tales auto theft prevention newsletter would like

to thank the Crime Prevention Specialist from the various

law enforcement agencies throughout San Diego County for their

help in distributing this publication. Thanks to their efforts,

RATT-Tales now reaches an estimated 60,000 readers.

Our goal is to continue to provide the public with crime

prevention information that will lessen their chances of falling

victim to vehicle theft.

If you are not currently receiving this newsletter and would like to,

please visit our website and sign up today. www.sdratt.com

MMILESTONEILESTONE RREACHEDEACHED RATTRATT--TTALESALES’ R’ READERSHIPEADERSHIP TOPSTOPS 60,000 60,000

By; Gary Warth

North County Times

Officials with the San Diego County Regional Auto Theft

Task Force are urging car dealerships to keep an eye on

keys and to do daily inventories following a string of thefts

throughout the county, including in Escondido.

"It happens in waves like this," said Chula Vista police Sgt.

Steve Witte, who is assigned to the task force. "And once

the dealerships are panicking and they're saying,

'Oh crap, we're getting hit again,' they'll take

measures to make sure they're more secure."

One of those measures involves the fre-

quency of inventories. Because many

dealerships typically count their cars just

once a month, they may not notice some

are missing for weeks.

"Dealerships don't do inventories until the

end of the month, and the bad guys know that,"

Witte said. "I know it's a pain in the butt, but they should do

a daily inventory. I know that's a lot of work for them, but

we'd at least get a time line for when they're stolen."

Another measure is to keep keys more secure. Witte said

some cars are stolen after thieves find where keys are

stored.

Witte said some dealerships now require the sales staff to

check keys in and out when taking customers on test drives.

At Jack Powell Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge in Escondido, two ve-

hicles were reported stolen after workers discovered nine

vehicle keys were missing.

Powell declined to talk about the

thefts on Thursday, but he did

send an email Wednesday to

other car dealerships urging

them to be on alert.

He wrote that he had heard of 11

other vehicle thefts from three

other dealerships in the county.

Witte said almost 20 vehicles have been

stolen from dealerships so far this year. Ran-

cho Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge in Kearny Mesa lost eight or

10 cars recently, and Ball Honda in National City lost five.

"It's pretty consistent," Witte said about how dealerships are

discovering cars stolen after realizing keys are missing.

Witte said task force investigators have contacted all deal-

erships to alert them of the crimes.

Vehicles Stolen From Auto Dealerships Around County

RATT-Tales Fifth Edition-PAGE 2

“Going Hollyw d” The San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Task Force was

recently featured on two news programs.

Date aired: June 5, 2011

Accompanied by a camera crew from CNBC’s popular Crime Inc. news show,

RATT’s follow up investigation leads to the arrest of an individual who was

part of last Decembers Operation Gangbusters investigation. The undercover

sting operation netted more than 30 suspected auto thieves and lead to the

recovery of guns, drugs and more than $300,000 in stolen vehicles.

“The stake out”

video stills: CNBC’s Crime Inc. news program “The Suspect”

“The Arrest”

During a recent appearance on

CW-6 In The Morning TV news

show, RATT’s commanding officer,

Scott Parker, highlighted the

benefits of having your Vehicle

Ident if icat ion Number (VIN)

chemically etched onto your

windshield.

Car thieves often avoid cars with

easily traceable parts

Increased odds of recovering your

stolen vehicle

Stolen vehicle parts can be tracked

by law enforcement

Note: RATT periodically holds VIN

etching events in communities

throughout San Diego County

CW-6 “In The

Morning” co

-host Marc

Bailey, (a former

police officer)

interviewing

Captain Parker

Date aired: July 12, 2011

“Standby! We’re live in 5, 4, 3. . .”

Detecting Odometer Fraud

It can be very difficult to detect odometer tampering, but it is not impossible. How do you know if your odometer has been tampered with? Read the following tips if you are considering buying a used car or have recently purchased one.

Ask to see the title. Compare the mileage on it with the vehicle's odometer. Be sure to examine the title closely if the

mileage seems obscured or is not easy to read. Look at the date the title was issued. Be suspicious if the vehicle is being

sold shortly after the title was issued. A new title could have been issued simply to hide a mileage alteration.

Compare the mileage on the odometer with the mileage indicated on the vehicle's maintenance or inspection records. Also,

look for oil-change and maintenance stickers on windows or door frames, in the glove box or under the hood that are

inconsistent with the mileage on the odometer. If the air conditioning system has been serviced, there should be a record

with date and mileage wrapped around some of the A/C lines.

Check that the numbers on the odometer gauge are aligned correctly. They shouldn't be crooked, contain gaps or jiggle

when you bang on the dash with your hand. If the vehicle has an analog odometer, as opposed to newer digital readouts,

check that the numbers are lined up straight. Pay special attention to the 10,000 digit.

Examine the tires. If the odometer on your car shows 20,000 or less, it should have the original tires. Be wary of new tires

that are mismatched by brand, size, or type.

Look at the wear and tear on the vehicle; especially the gas, brake and clutch pedals, door strikers, and floor mats to be

sure it seems consistent with and appropriate for the number of miles displayed on the odometer.

Request a CARFAX Vehicle History Report to check for odometer discrepancies in the vehicle's history. If the seller

doesn't have a vehicle history report, use the car's VIN to order a CARFAX vehicle history report online.

Dash screws loose or missing

Scratches in odometer area

Excessive wear in the interior, particularly in the driver's area

Vehicle registration inconsistent with either mismatched vehicle identification numbers (VIN) and/or odometer readings

Parts that are replaced that would not normally need to be replaced on a low-mileage vehicle such as hoses, clamps,

fan and air-conditioning belts, batteries, etc.

Test-drive the vehicle. When test driving the car, notice if the speedometer sticks.

Check the owner's manual to see if there is a maintenance record and if pages that may have contained a maintenance

record have been removed

Inspect the vehicle. Have a mechanic of your choosing inspect the vehicle. As part of that inspection, he should look for

signs of tampering

RATT-Tales Fifth Edition-PAGE 3 information source: lemonlaw.com

Researchers calculated that 3.4 percent of vehicles less than 11 years old have

had their odometers rolled back.

The National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration

calculates that on average,

used car buyers pay $2,336

more than they should for a

vehicle when the odometer has

been rolled back.

Once it required special tools

and a watchmaker's skill to roll

back an odometer, but with

today's electronic gauges, a

laptop and a little know-how

available on the Internet are

enough to do the job.

RATT-Tales Fifth Edition-PAGE 4

A car thief can strip a vehicle in less than 30 minutes

and make two to four times a vehicle’s worth by selling its

individual parts.

There are other hot parts and items that criminals

have recently targeted that don’t fall under

NHTSA’s regulatory responsibility:

■■ Air bags

■■ Rims and wheels

■■ Batteries

■■ Radiators

■■ Catalytic converters

■■ Radios and CD players

■■ Portable GPS units

■■ DVD entertainment systems

■■ Any items left visible in your car, such as iPods,

laptops, and purses

Source: www.nhtsa.gov

The following parts are federally required to be

marked:

■■ Engine

■■ Transmission

■■ Hood

■■ Right/left front fenders

■■ Right/left front doors

■■ Right/left rear door (four-door models)

■■ Sliding or cargo door (s)

■■ Deck lid

■■ Tailgate or hatchback (if present)

■■ Front/rear bumpers

■■ Right/left rear quarter panels

■■ Right/left-side assembly (MPVs)

■■ Pickup box and/or cargo box (LDTs)

Radios and wheel covers aren’t the only popular stolen vehicle parts thieves take. They want whatever sells,

from the mandated labeled parts (listed below) to those that aren’t. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations require vehicle manufacturers to label their vehicle’s major component parts—called parts-marking—with the vehicle identification number (VIN) unless the vehicle line is granted an exemption. An exemp-tion may occur if an antitheft device has been installed by the manufacturer as standard equipment on the entire vehicle line. Parts-marking has been shown to help reduce and deter motor vehicle theft, as well as help law en-forcement authorities identify, trace and recover parts from stolen motor vehicles which ultimately helps with prosecuting the crime.

It’s Not Just Your Vehicle — Thieves Want the Parts Too

Website Update!

With little to no fan-fare the San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Task Force recently “flipped a switch” and uploaded its

redesigned website that replaced an outdated earlier version. The new website, (sdratt.com) includes a number of updates and

features that will make it user friendly according to C.H.P. Captain Scott Parker who commands RATT, the multi-agency task force.

“We wanted to improve communication and information sharing between ourselves and the public and I feel confident that our new

website will do just that,” Scott added.

In addition to the standard information seen on most sites such as information on how to contact RATT and a list of frequently asked

questions, the new site provides the visitor with vehicle theft prevention tips, current auto theft statistics and information on recently

completed undercover operations.

With an estimated bi-monthly readership of just over 60,000, visitors to the site will also be able to directly access both the current

and previous issues of the RATT-Tales newsletter.

From RATT’s website, tipsters with information on stolen cars, chop shops, auto insurance fraud scammers and

other related crimes can- with the click of a mouse, the stroke of a key pad or the push of a phone button- be linked

directly to the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip program

visit us at: sdratt.com