Your car's identity can be stolen

Yahoo news is carrying a story on "VIN theft", which is essentially identity theft of your car:

Is your car a clone?:

"... In recent months, the term 'auto theft' has sprouted a new variation, known as 'VIN theft,' 'VIN cloning' or 'auto identity theft.' Whichever you prefer, it's a costly and complicated problem for some car dealers and car buyers.

Of the 1.5 million vehicles stolen last year, 225,000 were used in VIN-theft activity, says Dan Kahn, road test editor for Edmunds.com and Insideline.com.

In this new genre of the crime, your automobile stays with you but the VIN is duplicated on another vehicle -- usually one that is stolen or used in a different state...."