[pwd72s]

I recently got this in an email. Why do I think it's true? Several years ago, Cindy & I found the young mother who lives next door on our doorstep. She was in a panic because she'd locked her keys in her small Chevrolet, and her baby was in the back seat, confined to his safety seat. I tried all the old coathanger tricks, and none worked. Then I thought of the VIN#...wrote it down, told the tale to the local GM dealer. The cut key was waiting for us (Cindy stayed by the car, waving & talking to the baby) when the young mother & I arrived. I live in a small town, perhaps the dealership knew me. But no ID or proof of car ownership was asked for.
I'd suggest a modification of the VIN covering though...the bill of a baseball cap "tossed" on the dash. You'd then have no problem showing the VIN to the proper authorities, but it wouldn't make these authorities suspicious like covering with tape or a card would... Be careful out there, guys... Paul

What next? If there any potential car thieves out there that haven't thought of this trick yet , this mail will give them food for thought - Oh well, if they want the car bad enough to steal it, they will get it on way or another - I know three or four members of my family that I won't tell about this - Cheers, Dick Original Message -----
From: XXXX XXXXX
To: undisclosed-recipients
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 12:53 PM
Subject: Simply Thievery (from Betty)


Not sure if this is true but.....



Subject: Simply Thievery (from Betty)



Apparently car thieves have yet again found a way around the system and steal your car or truck without any effort at all.

The car thieves peer through the windshield of your car or truck, write
down the VIN number from the label on the dash, go into the local
dealership for that car brand and request a duplicate key for it from the
VIN number.

Car dealerships make up a duplicate key from the VIN number, collect payment from the 'customer' who's really a would-be car thief for making up the duplicate key -- the car thief goes back to your vehicle, inserts the key they've just gotten and off they drive with your car or truck. They don't have to break in, don't have to damage the vehicle and draw no attention to themselves as all they have to do is to walk up to your car, insert the key and off they go to their chop shop with your vehicle!!! Can you believe it?

To avoid this from happening to you, simply put opaque tape (like a strip of electrical tape, duct tape or medical tape) or just place a simple index card over the VIN label located on the dash board. You can't remove the VIN number legally under most state laws, so cover it so that it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief.