A new batch of car title scammers was apprehended in Southern California after fraudulently filing lien releases on vehicles. After getting “clean titles” on the cars the gang sold them to unsuspecting buyers likely through classified ads such as Craigslist.
The innocent buyers later discovered their vehicles had liens on them are were out the money that they paid for purchase.
“In many instances, innocent individuals were contacted by banks and finance companies when they failed to make payments on loans that had been fraudulently opened in their name,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a news release. It’s a scam known as “title washing” often used to conceal true lienholders of vehicles, according to Carfax.
