The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has raised an alarm about a new trend of crime in the car hire business that has left unsuspecting members of the public counting huge losses.
In a statement shared on DCI social media pages on Friday, the George Kinoti-led directorate disclosed how unsuspecting victims are being hoodwinked into buying motor vehicles hired out to magsmen who pose as genuine customers, only to forge the car documents, advertise the cars for sale and ultimately sell them out.
The crime busters believe that rogue car agents help the fraudsters in forging details in the vehicles’ original documents.
After forging the documents, the cons go ahead to fake the identity of genuine car owners, making it difficult for their to-be customers to detect any discrepancies after conducting a search.
“It is until the innocent buyers demand that car logbooks be transferred into their names that they realize they were duped into illegal deals,” said DCI.
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Unfortunately at that time, the genuine buyer will have parted with a huge percentage of the cost of the vehicle.
The sellers go under and refuse to pick up their customer’s calls.
Meanwhile, the car hire agents will have moved to the police to report that cars they hired out were long past the agreed date of return.
On being tracked down, they are found in the hands of victims who have no idea they are suspects in motor vehicle thievery.
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Police said they had received numerous complaints in the past few days mainly from Murang’a and Kiambu counties, further warning the public to beware of the con trick.
“Numerous such scenarios have in the past few days hit the DCI’s social media platforms (especially from Murang’a and Kiambu counties), with victims narrating their ordeals in the hands of criminals whose sheer greed for quick money has no mercy for the victims’ toil and sweat,” added DCI.
“Whereas the DCI is working tirelessly to shatter this trend and bring to justice players in the sham deals, members of the public are urged to beware of the con trick.
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“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.”
ultimately sell them out.
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…— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) July 22, 2021
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