For Canadian car dealerships, VIN cloning is no longer an isolated criminal tactic — it’s a serious threat that can compromise inventory integrity, expose dealers to significant financial losses and damage reputation and customer trust.

As sophisticated fraudsters replicate legitimate vehicle identification numbers to conceal stolen vehicles, dealerships face increased risk, particularly during the acquisition phase and throughout the sales process.

Understanding how VIN cloning works and how to spot it has never been more essential to protecting your business, its reputation and your customers.

What is VIN cloning?

VIN cloning happens when criminals copy the VIN from a legally registered car and use it to disguise a stolen vehicle. This makes the stolen car appear legitimate, allowing it to be sold to unsuspecting buyers or even insured without raising red flags.

This practice creates two problems: the clone vehicle (a stolen vehicle that appears legitimate), and a donor vehicle (a legitimate vehicle that’s had its identity stolen). The crime creates a host of issues at either end.

According to CARFAX Canada, these are the 10 most VIN-cloned vehicles:

  • Ford F-150
  • Ram 1500
  • Jeep Wrangler
  • Ford Escape
  • Chevrolet Silverado
  • Ford F-350
  • GMC Sierra
  • Ford Edge
  • Ford F-250
  • Ford Explorer

 

These vehicles are highly sought after by Canadians, making them prime targets for criminals. However, all vehicle types, including brand-new models, can be vulnerable to VIN cloning.

This lucrative form of fraud often finances other illegal activities, underscoring the importance of taking proactive steps to protect both yourself and your customers.

How big is the problem?

Auto theft and VIN fraud surged in 2023 and continues to be a problem, as criminals identified ways to take advantage of and profit from the high demand in the used-car market. In Canada, a car is stolen every eight minutes, according to CARFAX estimates based on data from the Canadian Police Information Center, and a CARFAX survey found one in five Canadians or someone they know were affected by auto theft in the past year.

Across the country, VIN fraud has become increasingly common in recent years, and it’s nearly impossible to detect it without the help of experts. CARFAX Canada estimates there are more than 372,000 potentially fraudulent VINs on Canadian roads today, and approximately 127,000 cloned vehicles registered in Ontario.

Further, VIN cloning is no longer just an export issue. With tighter port security, criminals are now forced to keep stolen vehicles in Canada and move them across provinces to avoid detection. That means more re-VINed vehicles are circulating on listing sites and marketplaces in Canada.

Who’s affected?

VIN cloning impacts everyone — from individual car buyers and owners to dealers, insurers and finance companies.

For the average Canadian, unknowingly purchasing a stolen vehicle can lead to serious consequences, including the potential loss of insurance coverage, seizure of the vehicle by authorities, inability to sell or trade it in, and even wrongful association with criminal activity.

VIN fraud can create serious operational, financial and legal issues for dealerships as well. A cloned or fraudulent VIN can slip into inventory undetected, leaving the dealership to unknowingly sell a stolen vehicle. An outcome that can lead to seized inventory, insurance disputes, reputational damage and even legal action.

For insurance providers, a fraudulent VIN is often discovered only after a claim has been filed, which could mean financial loss either from a theft claim on a cloned vehicle or an accident claim on a re-VINed vehicle.

Auto theft and fraud are costly at nearly every level of the automotive ecosystem. Insurance carriers, repair shops, auto finance companies, remarketers, dealers and ultimately the Canadian public — everyone is impacted to some degree.

What’s being done to stop it?

Curbing VIN fraud takes a collaborative approach between the private and public sectors. Throughout 2025, the government has implemented stronger security at the ports and tougher criminal penalties, which has led to a decrease in vehicle theft across the country.

CARFAX Canada, which has access to billions of data records, is among the organizations dedicated to working with the automotive industry, law enforcement and government to combat vehicle fraud and enhancing transparency in the used-vehicle market for the past 25 years.

Those efforts help expand the database and develop new tools to help consumers, dealerships, insurers and industry partners stay ahead of VIN fraud. As a result, dealers and insurers now have access to enhanced fraud-detection tools to protect themselves and their customers.

In addition, consumers now have the ability to detect VIN fraud before purchasing a used vehicle and to monitor their own VIN for fraud during ownership, allowing Canadians to identify potential VIN cloning on a vehicle.

Protect your dealership and customers

Whether you’re taking in a trade in or helping your customers choose their dream car, it’s important to be aware of potential VIN fraud.

As a dealer, if you suspect a vehicle might have a fraudulent VIN, CARFAX Canada recommends you report the incident to your local police and run a vehicle history report that includes a VIN fraud detection tool, which can let you know if a vehicle has history records that might indicate potential fraud has occurred and let you know if the vehicle is stolen.

As a dealer, you are in a position to help educate your customers on the impacts of VIN fraud. Consumers not buying from a registered dealer should:

  • Verify the seller’s identity.
  • Physically inspect the VIN plate for signs of tampering.
  • Check the vehicle history report and available tools vehicle data and potential VIN fraud flags.

 

During ownership and before selling a vehicle car owners should:

  • Avoid sharing the VIN online.
  • Keep all vehicle documents secure.
  • Monitor their vehicle’s activity, such as accidents, service, recalls and odometer reading, after purchase to spot potential suspicious activity early.

 

Shawn Vording is president of CARFAX Canada. For more information about VIN fraud and fraud detection tools, visit www.carfax.ca/what-is-vin-fraud.