Becoming Aware of Consumer Fraud
Consumer fraud occurs when a person suffers from a financial or personal loss. The fraud can involve the use of deceptive, unfair, misleading, or false business practices. All consumers are at risk of fraud, both personal and with motor vehicles.
Personal Fraud is when an individual lies to you to gain an advantage causing financial loss or learning your private information to commit fraud.
Motor Vehicle Fraud involves the fraudulent activity when purchasing a used vehicle. Whether withholding information about the vehicle's history or tampering with the VIN number are examples that mislead the buyer and are fraudulent activities.
Pump the brakes on fraud by reporting it. To report these types of fraud ONLY please complete the Request for Investigation Form and if you have attachments, they can be emailed to dor_investigationsunit@state.co.us.
Fraud Involving Personal Records
Identity Theft occurs when personal information is stolen.
The goal of the thieves is to use your personal information to assume your identity to access your bank account and drain funds, open and use credit cards in your name, and more.
- You receive calls from debt collectors about unfamiliar credit cards and debts.
- You receive bills from medical providers for treatments you didn't have.
Fraud Involving A Vehicle
Motor Vehicle Fraud
Motor Vehicle Fraud occurs when an individual purchases a used vehicle and has been misled about vehicle. The seller may not be forthright about the vehicle's condition at the time of sale, or the VIN number has been altered to hide its past from the buyer. Consumers need to be aware of the hazards of potential misinformation about the actual condition of the vehicle and its title.
- Damaged or salvaged title
- Misrepresentation of vehicle history
What You Can Do About Fraud
Reporting suspicious or confirmed fraudulent activity is the first step.
If you have been a victim of identity theft or your personal identifying information (PII) has been compromised, you can determine if your case meets the requirements for an investigation if it has impacted your motor vehicle record. If fraudulent activity involving your record is believed to have occurred, an Investigations Unit alert may have been placed on your record.
Email Motor Vehicle Investigations Unit here for more details.