By outdoor-nature-child.com In recent weeks, the Chinese community in Southern California has been facing a surge in towing scams, where criminals employ clever tactics to steal expensive vehicles. One victim, Mr. Li, tragically watched as his nearly $300,000 Aston Martin was taken from him under the guise of a legitimate towing service. After the vehicle was stolen, the scammers audaciously demanded a ransom to return it.
Mr. Li, a San Diego resident and owner of a 2023 Aston Martin DB12, was preparing to consign his luxury car at a dealership in Irvine. Due to his busy schedule and the fact that his home was outside the service area of the dealership’s affiliated towing company, he decided to contact a towing service on his own.
On the day in question, the towing company arrived as scheduled and took the car away. However, just three hours later, another towing truck showed up at Mr. Li’s home, claiming to be there to tow the vehicle. Confused, Mr. Li explained that his car had already been taken. After some investigation, he discovered that the first towing truck had been operated by fraudsters impersonating a legitimate company, likely due to a data breach at the actual towing service.
That night, Mr. Li received a call from the scammers demanding a $20,000 ransom. Outraged, he reported the incident to the police and ignored the criminals’ demands. Days later, the scammers reached out again, offering to lower the ransom and promising to help return his car to California. Mr. Li pretended to agree, but he eventually stopped hearing from them.
This type of scam doesn’t only target individuals; professional car dealers are also at risk. Joseph, a car dealer in Southern California, shared his close call with a towing scam. His dealership uses a towing platform called Central Dispatch, known for its rigorous vetting process that usually minimizes issues. However, just a week or two ago, Joseph almost fell victim to a towing scam himself after purchasing a $100,000 BMW 840i.
On that day, Joseph received a call from someone with an Indian accent. Having been cautious due to past experiences with such scammers, he initially hesitated. However, the provided towing company details and his application information checked out, so he felt secure enough to share his pickup number with them, who assured him that the vehicle would arrive the next day. Later that evening, the towing company’s customer service called to confirm whether he had submitted a towing request, since they had not received any booking for that day. They informed him that their service only covers towing orders from Illinois, not California, and that their account had been hacked earlier that day, warning Joseph that the scammers might be attempting to steal his vehicle information.
Joseph immediately tried to contact the BMW dealership, but no one was available since it was after closing time. After a night of anxiety, thankfully, he learned the next day that the vehicle had not been picked up. He speculated that the pickup location, being a dealership, likely had multiple surveillance systems in place, deterring the scammers from acting. He noted that it is generally easier to scam individual car owners rather than established dealers due to the latter’s security measures.
Joseph advised vehicle owners to exercise caution when seeking towing services. He emphasized the importance of verifying information and choosing trustworthy platforms to avoid falling victim to these scams, which typically involve either smuggling cars out of the country for sale or extorting car owners for ransom.